Kitchen hearth part 1

Water intrusion, from leaky flashing perhaps, led to the 'jacking' of the lintel, the severe rusting of the angle iron spanning the fireplace opening. Brick columns on either side are collapsing...

We also will repair some exfoliation at the back of the fireplace.

We also want to patch this crack across the mantle.

While we're at it, we'll scrape down the blistered efflorescence on the walls above, patch and repaint the wall for a facelift on the whole panel.