ᐅ Widening the chimney for a fireplace in the living room: yes or no?

Hello everyone,

we are having a semi-detached house built by a developer. The shell construction is currently completed, including the chimney and roof tiles. Only the windows are missing before the interior work can continue.

Since we have a chimney and have already bought a fireplace that is 14 cm (5.5 inches) wider, we asked our builder if it would be possible to widen the chimney. He said he doesn’t mind that the fireplace is wider, but the chimney could be widened using aerated concrete blocks (ytong).

Now we are unsure whether we should widen the chimney so the fireplace fits neatly, or just leave it as it is. What do you think?

The fireplace is located on the living room wall where the TV will be in the future. To the left, there is access to the kitchen.

I would appreciate your opinion.

Best regards,
Andi

In the picture, it looks like the chimney on the left aligns flush with the wall behind it. The fireplace pipe is probably centered. From this perspective, it would extend about 7 cm (3 inches) beyond the chimney on both sides. Of course, you can visually widen the chimney and also create a specially angled adapter piece for the pipe. But placing this fireplace in front of a chimney of the same width—or even right up against it—looks like a step. That’s not very appealing.

Anditanja123 schrieb:
He said he doesn’t mind if the fireplace is wider.

Well, he’s right. Almost all other fireplace owners agree that it actually looks significantly better.

The fireplace and the house don’t match. The house is already built, so better fall in love with a different fireplace.

Anditanja123 schrieb:
Since we have a chimney and have already bought a fireplace that is 14 cm (5.5 inches) wider,

Wrong order—though: I also once bought a car stereo before passing my driver’s test. It was a great piece, especially since it was on sale. The fireplace kit should also be resellable without much loss. Possibly you could even return it as a goodwill gesture.

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