Yes, definitely temporarily cover the tile with plywood and do a faux fireplace covering in wood. Anything would be better than that tile job for sure. Especially as it's nonfunctioning, you don't have to worry about clearances and such.

A small sledge hammer and a chisel would take those tiles off, I would think.

I've considered it, and nothing would bring me greater joy than to go at the darn thing. I just have no idea what's under the tiles and I'm afraid to create an inexpensive problem.

What's likely under the tile, do you think? Brick? Brick would be tolerable.

What's likely under the tile, do you think?

I would guess the original mantel, overlaid with some kind of sheetrock to hold the tile. I don't know where you are. In my part of FL it would usually be rough coquina stone. Do any of your neighbors have their original surrounds?

ETA It may not be in good condition, though. Here most 1920s fireplaces had several brass/bronze returns set in them to send more heat into the room and those have often been badly filled in, like this recent listing:

The weird damage to the top center is from where they pulled one out and tried to plaster over it. The four big blocks were the four corner returns.

Lots of houses around us--it's a historic district--have the original fireplaces, and most are brick. Interesting. I'm going to ask for an opinion on the neighborhood Facebook page on what's likely to be under the depressing tile. I just might find someone who remembers it before, although that's a long shot.

(Trying to imagine the reaction of my husband, who went out of town this weekend, if he walked in the house about 9 tonight and discovered me in the process of demolishing the fireplace.)

I wonder how many layers a fireplace could hold before it all fell down? No likely but really at some point isn't it best to try and chisel down to the original foot print?

I don't think I'd tear into it until I had the budget to completely redo it, lest what you find is really not good.

Can you just choose a great new tile application and go over it?

Grab a flashlight and see if you can make out anything where the tiles stop and the firebox opening is. From the photo, it looks like they just cut the tiles to fit and didn't use any kind of end piece. Scrape at the edge a bit - they may have just painted it black and it would reveal what's behind the tile. OR can you move the bookcase on the right and see how they treated that side?

You would be surprised what you can learn by poking around a bit.

The bookcase is built in and is probably original. The tile goes to the edge of the book and was just trimmed at the edge. Same for the firebox opening. There's no end piece, so I'm going to try scraping a bit to see what the brick there looks like. The firebox needs a new coat of paint anyway, so it's no big deal if I scratch up the existing one.

It really looks like they trimmed some kind of backing board to fit the side and front, attached them to the original fireplace surround and put up the tile. It's not a sophisticated job, so I really think it won't be hard to remove the tile. The big question is about what's underneath.

I could find something wonderful, or I could find something awful which will show why they put up the tile in the first place!

If you cover the fireplace with wood (which burns) don't use it. Start looking for tile to do it right. This isn't going to take a large amount of tile so you may get what you need sooner and for less cost if you go to tile stores and look for remnants.

I would tear into it. If it's awful, you can always go with your original plan of "cover it with plywood" -- but I'm guessing that you'll find the original under there somewhere and how cool would that be?!

Practigal, the fireplace actually can't be used. The chimney is blocked at the top, so there's no issue.

Let us know what your DH says when he gets home....

That will look so clean and sharp when painted up, and how wonderful to have the original back. Will you ever fix the chimney so it could be functional?

Anyone else think the glass block MIGHT be original? I have heard of this application in these homes before, I think.

You go, girl!

Oh yay! I can't wait for pics!!!

Don't be afraid. Go at, but go slowly and carefully. Nothing can be worse than what you're removing.

I'm anxious to see what it looks like underneath :)

Made pretty good progress today even though I didn't get a lot of time to work:

The big pieces of tile come off without much trouble. The little pieces are a PAIN but they're coming down. The mortar is also coming off when I chip away at it. I'm thinking a wire brush is the tool for that part of the job.

One interesting thing: See where the gray mortar is thickest? If you really get close there's a long rectangle where the brick isn't painted yellow. Interestingly, it lines up with a spot on the underside of the mantel where the stain is a slightly different color as well. All of which leads me to the conclusion that there was at some point a corbel there. (FYI, corbel = bracket-like piece of trim. I had to look it up myself. I had somehow confused corbels with plinths, which are not the same thing at all.) On the opposite side there's a similar spot on the mantel, so probably it looked something like this:

Although presumably without that enormous screen thing. I did some very preliminary looking online, where there are corbels aplenty but most way too fancy for my uses. I'll keep looking, browse around on eBay and check out the architectural salvage place nearby. I'll find something. I think it will look spiffy when it's done!

I've gone from regretting my fireplace to really excited about it in 24 hours! I'll post updates as I move along. Thanks for all the encouragement!

Oh, and re: the glass brick, we're 90% sure we found the original windows from the sides of the fireplace when we tore down the old garage. In the depths of that horrible, horrible building (dark, damp, dusty, spider-ridden, and with a mud floor) we found two windows with the exact dimensions of the window openings. Unfortunately they had been lying on the mud floor for who knows how long and the wood had completely rotted. They fell apart when we tried to pick them up. Such a shame.

In time I'll find a way to replace them (more architectural salvage, maybe), but in the interim I want to find two old stained glass windows and hang them inside in front of the glass brick.

Re:the glass blocks. You might think of adding sheer curtains, giving the 'idea' there is a window underneath the sheers. If there is a lip of some sort at the top and bottom of the blocks, using a tension rod on the top AND bottom, the sheers would certainly work. You could also use standard white rods, attaching them at the top and bottom, it tension rods are not an option. It's a definite way of hiding ugly glass blocks.

They may have been trying to do their (unsuccessful) version of a Batchelder fireplace, thinking it more authentic than brick. These often had a central feature design or relief tile.

Big improvement already! Keep posting pictures.

This was our fireplace in our old home.

That's gorgeous! LOVE all the stained wood and the incredible ceiling. If the trim in our house was ever stained, it was painted long ago. I know people in the neighborhood who stripped all of their trim, but it's a huge job, and heaven knows how much of that paint is lead-based. I'm just going to live with my painted trim!

I particularly envy that ceiling. I don't think we ever had beams and coffering, and some fool put popcorn on Every. Ceiling. In. The. House. The remodel got rid of it in the kitchen, dining room, and bath; I personally scrapped every inch of our bedroom. The living room and my son's room have got to be done, but I'll hire someone to do it in a few years. It's an awful, awful job.

Where are you located? I'm in So Cal and found this mantel on CL, but my firebox is too wide for it's opening:

elinday - great job! I am glad you went for it. Post pictures after you have all that tile off, please.

I love the restoration you are working on for that fireplace!

Bravo for your bravery in tackling this demo and reconstruction. It's going to be great when you get it finished.

Errant_gw, that's gorgeous! I'm in Fort Worth, TX, so a bit too far away. I always thought about replacing it with something antique like that, but now I'm liking the results so much we may never change the brick!

I've made good progress. All the tile is gone and I've sanded away 75% or so of the mortar. (Nasty job. I had to get after it with wire brushes on the power drill, and now the entire house has a coating of brick dust. Rookie mistake--I should have sealed off the room with plastic, but I was in too much of a rush. Cleaning is going to be pain.) I've even found some corbels online that will serve the purpose. It's very exciting seeing it re-emerge.

More photos to come!