We are going to extend our villa and in the new part, our current outdoor fireplace will be located. The extension, which is about 35 square meters in a rectangle outside the outdoor fireplace, will house a dining area and some sofas. The idea is to renovate the exterior of the chimney (which will now be indoors) and create a nice fireplace in the chimney. The current outdoor fireplace will be closed off. We would preferably like to elevate the fireplace and have it centered.
Question: Does anyone know if it is easy or difficult for a skilled mason to open the chimney, support the weight above, and then install an insert in the hole? And if so, how do they solve this technically?
Question: Does anyone know if it is easy or difficult for a skilled mason to open the chimney, support the weight above, and then install an insert in the hole? And if so, how do they solve this technically?
I think your chimney stack is too small to be able to open it and install an insert in it. The small fireplace you have suggests that the flue for the outdoor stove is right above the stove.
Usually, a new outer frame/surround is installed that the insert stands in. It then goes to the ceiling in the room being built.
That surround can be a brick wall that is 20-30cm outside of the existing chimney or plasterboard/mineral board.
Feel free to look at the pictures and the dimension sketch of an insert for installation in an existing or for freestanding installation.
https://jotul.com/se/produkter/murspisar-och-kassetter/i-620-serien/jotul-i-620-fr
https://eldabutiken.se/produkter/contura-i7/
Usually, a new outer frame/surround is installed that the insert stands in. It then goes to the ceiling in the room being built.
That surround can be a brick wall that is 20-30cm outside of the existing chimney or plasterboard/mineral board.
Feel free to look at the pictures and the dimension sketch of an insert for installation in an existing or for freestanding installation.
https://jotul.com/se/produkter/murspisar-och-kassetter/i-620-serien/jotul-i-620-fr
https://eldabutiken.se/produkter/contura-i7/
Agree, the positive thing is that there won't be much to carry, so the job should be easy for a good mason, and besides, it shouldn't be hard to make it look nicer than it does today. 
Thank you for the response. The challenge I have is that I don't want to take up too much space in the room as it risks getting too close to the furniture. 20 cm outside is completely fine, but if it goes up to 40-50 cm, it becomes a bit cramped. I have looked at the drawings of inserts and it feels like most are 40-50 cm deep. Or are you thinking that you would still open/bear off so that you can "recess" it into the existing chimney? That would require a relatively large hole to be opened in the chimney (about 50x80 cm), or am I thinking wrong?
Like this?
Something like that, the support doesn't need to be very strong, basically an angle iron 50*50 or equivalent.
It may require a building permit depending on the municipality.
But a company that sells and installs fireplaces usually includes all the expertise in their quotes.
It may require a building permit depending on the municipality.
But a company that sells and installs fireplaces usually includes all the expertise in their quotes.
Brick up and install a wood-burning stove instead?
Wood-burning stove was not a bad idea... Of course, I think it's nicer to have an integrated insert, but it will likely be significantly more cost-effective with a standalone wood-burning stove. I received an indicative quote for extending the chimney by 1 meter in height (about 10 courses of brick) and sealing four flues. Just that part would cost about 85,000 SEK. With the cost of an insert and the hassle of installing and bricking, it will probably run another 60,000-70,000 SEK before it's all done, I guess... Maybe you can save about 40,000-50,000 SEK by going the wood-burning stove route...
In that situation, I would probably have chosen a wood-burning stove .
A tip, I don’t know where you live, but my local fireplace retailer is having stove day on the 5th of October and he has decent promotions on selected stoves, though I don’t know if that includes all retailers for contura.. I have personally ordered a contura 520T, but I'm installing it myself so I get away fairly cheaply price-wise.
.A tip, I don’t know where you live, but my local fireplace retailer is having stove day on the 5th of October and he has decent promotions on selected stoves, though I don’t know if that includes all retailers for contura.. I have personally ordered a contura 520T, but I'm installing it myself so I get away fairly cheaply price-wise.