Removing whole chimneys, top to bottom.
Discussion
I'm looking at removing three chimneys in a standard 1920s semi-detached house as part of a major renovation. What would be the best way to go about this? Here are my initial thoughts:
Two are shared with the neighbour and lead to a shared stack on top (ie, two chimney breasts (front and back of the house) lead to a single stack that straddles the apex and the shared wall. The stack has eight pots, four of which are from our house). For this I will support the stack with braces in the loft and then remove all the bricks going down.
The third stack is in the middle of the house and leads straight up and out of one of the slopes. Here I will also brace the stack in the loft and remove the bricks all the way down. When I get the roof done, I will have the stack removed completely.
Is is as straightforward as that? I am fully aware this is one of the dirtiest jobs you can do in a house but are there any other complications I should be wary of?
Many thanks.
Two are shared with the neighbour and lead to a shared stack on top (ie, two chimney breasts (front and back of the house) lead to a single stack that straddles the apex and the shared wall. The stack has eight pots, four of which are from our house). For this I will support the stack with braces in the loft and then remove all the bricks going down.
The third stack is in the middle of the house and leads straight up and out of one of the slopes. Here I will also brace the stack in the loft and remove the bricks all the way down. When I get the roof done, I will have the stack removed completely.
Is is as straightforward as that? I am fully aware this is one of the dirtiest jobs you can do in a house but are there any other complications I should be wary of?
Many thanks.
Ha Ha! Just this morning finished a similar job: chimney taken down from roof, down through loft/bedroom, then kitchen/dining room and then knocked through from kitchen to dining room. You're right about the muck. It's probably the dirtiest/most disruptive job you can have undertaken in your house. Your plan sounds feasible, though you may need a structural guy and it's probably best to have the work done under the auspices of building control, so if you ever sell up you won't have any issues. The small stack that is on its own, you might be best taking that down in one stage now, that way you can drop the bricks above the roof/in the roof space down the flue, it will save having to carry them out of the roof space and down the roof in the future.
wolfracesonic said:
Ha Ha! Just this morning finished a similar job: chimney taken down from roof, down through loft/bedroom, then kitchen/dining room and then knocked through from kitchen to dining room. You're right about the muck. It's probably the dirtiest/most disruptive job you can have undertaken in your house. Your plan sounds feasible, though you may need a structural guy and it's probably best to have the work done under the auspices of building control, so if you ever sell up you won't have any issues. The small stack that is on its own, you might be best taking that down in one stage now, that way you can drop the bricks above the roof/in the roof space down the flue, it will save having to carry them out of the roof space and down the roof in the future.
Did you use Building Control? How much do they charge?I was thinking about the stuctural side as I know chimneys add strength to a wall. Is there anything you did or had to do to ensure the rest of the wall was still sturdy?
And top tip about dropping bricks down the flue - PH comes good again!
The chimney I've just done was 'free standing', not against the party wall, if I hadn't knocked through the kitchen/dining room no steel/calcs would have been required. Don't know the costs for the SE or building control, the customer sorted all that out and there were other items involved as part of the drawings, possibly £350.00 to £400.00 for both? I would recommend a SE though, gallows brackets aren't always suitable, especially if your neighbor has done or will do the same in the future. You may need a UB at ceiling level.
I did mine 40's- just knocked out my side up to the loft.
The other side's (check it's still there) will support the wall (if it needs it).
In the loft my chimney was only 1.5 bricks proud so I just left it corbelled out, when I came to sell their surveyor wanted it supported so I had a fabricator knock up a steel support - it did nothing but ticked the box.
The other side's (check it's still there) will support the wall (if it needs it).
In the loft my chimney was only 1.5 bricks proud so I just left it corbelled out, when I came to sell their surveyor wanted it supported so I had a fabricator knock up a steel support - it did nothing but ticked the box.
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