Preparations

Away we go!

My mother's garage has been taken over!

This is the fireplace as it stands.  The plan is to knock out the brick on either side, thus opening up the space.  Considerable work has been done here already, including all the stone work and the new mantle.

Note: That mantle has a very interesting story, but we will cover that in another post.

The view looking towards the back of the fireplace.  That railing is to be removed.

Got falling masonry?

Better protect the stairs!

Flooring is removed...

Lay down some protection for the hardwood...

Hoarding!

The entire area is cordoned off with plastic from the rest of the house.  We are about to make a lot of dust.  Some will escape, but every effort is made to keep it to a minimum.

The stairs are covered with a temporary plywood floor.  This provides a stable place to work.  Pictured above is a quick-cut saw.  If one wants to cut masonry or concrete, this is the best way to do it.

Warning: running a gas-powered engine (even a small one) indoors is dangerous!  Ensure proper ventilation.  Open windows, doors, also run big fans.  A build-up of carbon monoxide can obviously be deadly.

The cut is made.

A small amount of water is run through the saw while cutting.  This keeps the dust down as well as helps to lubricate the cut.

Once the cuts are made, we bring out the rotary hammer and start removing bricks.

Voila!

The wall is gone.