Fireplace issue

Adja. I assume that the handyman (bricklayer) did this silly design, and he wanted to get the job finished, get paid and be gone faster than a rocket.

This is the reason that laypersons should never allow a Craftsperson carry out Surprise designs, and should ensure that they see Drawings and or photos of what their end product will look like, before letting them loose in your house

The brickwork is done to a very poor incompetent standard. What in heavens name was the Moran thinking about Putting in the Steps.

My advice is - do not paint it under any circumstances at present, because it will will look exactly the same except in a different colour.

If you paint it, then you remove the possibility of ever Plastering the fireplace/ shaft OR fixing tiles or marble to it.

My suggestion is that you should hire a Qualified Competent mature Plasterer, get him to fill in all the steps, and straighten the 2 splayed shoulders. And plaster the front and sides in Cement Mortar (cement and sand) in 2 coats, and finish the surface in a float finish. If this gets stained with smoke, you can paint it whenever you want to freshen it up.

You could also fit Tiles or Marble to the shaft.

Do not allowed the shaft to be dri-lined with plasterboard slabs because there is a danger of Carbon-monoxide being transferred from the 🔥 to upper rooms behind the slab.

Thanks Adja.

This is an original fireplace, so very unlikely to have been made up on the fly by a handyman.

Your suggesting to render it in mortar isn’t a good one. That’s a very low quality finish that I’d expect in a shed of cheaply built house.

OP how you finish it depend on the look you want. Square off the shoulders, build the breast out to the ceiling, skipped as above suggestion (would look worse imo).

I don’t mind the brick, but it doesn’t site well with the wall behind. Look at the whole lot. Whitewash brick can take the rustic look off the red brick.

Maybe at look at some brick and non-brick fireplaces and see which you like and get an idea of what you are trying to achieve.