Cost to render this chimney?

[Wacky Racer]

Hi all,

The chimney on my sister's house has seen better days, as you can see the render/pebbledash is virtually non existent, so she is going to get three or four roofers/builders round for a quote.

It is a standard 1930's semi, they may be able to work off ladders, but might need scaffolding.

Access at the front is good.

I have told her I reckon it is two/three days work.

Thoughts?

Newcastle area.

[OutInTheShed]

Guessing it's a semi by the multiple aerials?

The render is one thing, I would also want to understand the lack of flashings.
Trouble is, you may need to disturb some tiles and a bit of next door's roof, no point doing half a chimney?

[Wacky Racer]

OutInTheShed said:

Guessing it's a semi by the multiple aerials?

The render is one thing, I would also want to understand the lack of flashings.
Trouble is, you may need to disturb some tiles and a bit of next door's roof, no point doing half a chimney?

Yes, I think the idea is to split the cost with the house next door, which is fair enough.

[Magooagain]

Scaffolding then labour and materials along with some sort of provisional agreement on what might be found once up there. New flashing all round etc.

[JoshSm]

Flaunching looks utterly fked and at least one pot looks to be losing the fight against gravity, maybe along with whatever it's sat on.

Wouldn't surprise me if most of the visible brickwork is mainly held together by habit.

No caps I can see on any of the pots but I assume the majority of the fireplaces aren't active? Are they even open/ventilated?

That needs more than render, it needs rebuilding. Or removing.

[Andeh1]

That's gotta be a few £grand incl scaffolding.

[E-bmw]

I suspect the chimney was rendered to "hide a multiple of sins" and so the whole thing will need to be rebuilt.

That being the case (personally) I would be expecting a couple of grand, scaffolding and (quite likely) extra work over and above what you can see when they get in there.

I would also be having it redone without the render.

[paddy1970]

There may be an argument for leaving it as exposed brick and repointing it...

[megaphone]

Do they, or the neighbours, use the fireplaces/chimneys? If not might be easier just to get rid. Will need to find new locations for the TV aerials.

[Lotobear]

paddy1970 said:

There may be an argument for leaving it as exposed brick and repointing it...

Looking at the elevation below I suspect it's always been rough cast rendered below the projecting upper courses, so it's likely they will be a poorer quality common brick (upper courses look like an engineering brick).

Anyhoo I would say £1,500 - £2,000 to scaffold and re dash the brickwork. Can't see if there are any soakers but often the render was carried down and onto the soakers to provide the weather seal

[spitfire-ian]

E-bmw said:

I suspect the chimney was rendered to "hide a multiple of sins" and so the whole thing will need to be rebuilt.

Funnily enough that is the exact phrase a builder used when I casually enquired about removing the render on our house and to leave it well alone

[JoshSm]

The other issue is what might happen with the roof while getting access up to the chimney. It doesn't look like it's in a brilliant state either.

I suspect like many things that once you start looking more closely all sorts of issues will suddenly make themselves known, and even worse once you break the quantum spells by observing it it'll really start to fall apart, after years where it was still somehow hanging together for reasons that physics can't quite explain.