Removing Bedroom Chimney Breast - How much Roughly?

Hi guys

Thinking of converting our former 3 bed house back into a 3 bed (currently two bedrooms) by erecting a stud wall. If we do this we would need to move into the other large bedroom.

In here we have a chimney breast jutting out which makes it a bit awkward to put a double bed in as we have fitted cupboards.

Just wondering if someone could give me an idea how much it would cost to get the chimney breast removed in the bedroom. Chimney breast downstairs is fine so I guess it just has to be supported in the loft?

Thanks in advance

WJUK

Comments

  • owls
    owls Posts: 217 Forumite
    hi

    The problem with a job like this is that it is very difficult to price a job of this nature without seeing it as every job is different.
    The crux of the job is inserting a couple of rsj lintels across the room to support the weight of the existing stack,the way to do this is to try and place these in the void next to the floor joists,time consuming, depending on your location is another factor but at a guess your steels are gonna be a good 300 a peice.
    A couple of days to remove the chmney plus pack in the girder,a couple to plaster up the wall area and perhaps re plaster the whole room ceilng depending on the state of the ceiling once the girders in place.this plus skips etc.and then a days jonery to make up the floor void and match room skirting etc.

    Based on the above id say around the 2500 mark.

    The trick is to get a reputable builder involved. as it is obiously major work and you might want to think about getting a structual engineer involved prior to work comencing for peice of mind.
  • Pipcola
    Pipcola Posts: 53 Forumite
    Is your property detached?

    If so relatively simple although can be costly dependant upon size of chimney brest try Googling Gallows Brackets.

    If not detached and chimney stack is shared not so simple and even more costly try Googling Party Wall Agreement
  • culpepper
    culpepper Posts: 4,076 Forumite
    my late FIL was an architect and we asked him the same question years ago.
    He said that the few feet you gain from removing the chimney breast is maybe the most expensive way of gaining space per square foot.
    The thing is you must still have a way of holding up the chimney and the ceiling above as well as making good the wall where the chimney breast is removed and the floor.
  • macka0
    macka0 Posts: 87 Forumite
    tbh i`d say its a 2 day job max......most chimneys are tied into the external or dividing wall all the way up....so with it being in the bedroom you just need to lintel it off in the loft ,the chimney b/work itself should corbel out from the main walling(step out half brick then a full brick then 1 and half etc) this then should be enough to pop a lintel across ...the bulk of the work will be moving the brick and cleaning the years of soot etc off the wall b4 you plaster/dryline....
    so material wise you`re well in under 100 quid
    just the labour ontop
  • owls
    owls Posts: 217 Forumite
    depens on the age of the house,

    2 day job and 100 quid?
    it will be more than that as ive done this job on many occasions.if its a solid plastered wall float and set the wall, dont dryline.
  • macka0
    macka0 Posts: 87 Forumite
    100 quid for materials i said
    lintel 20 quid
    8x4 plasterboard ,skirting board,floor board,noggins etc etc 80 quid
    why how much did it cost you in materials ?
    also dry lining helps stop all the sulphar soaking thru the plaster
  • mikeopvc
    mikeopvc Posts: 912
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    Sorry to butt in here guys but this is a job that I too am going to be doing, To read that it might cost me £2,500 was a bit scary, If it's all about supporting the rest of the stack above then why not remove that too, this is what I was planning to do. I assumed I could just remove all the brickwork and fill in the gaps with floorboards, plaster the wall and ceiling and finish off the roof with some tiles. Labour is the costly part of this job and a 4 tonne skip (£90)
  • i live in a terraced cottage(1889) and removed the stack in my kitchen myself as the main weight of the chimney has an archway type construction in the entry,which now bears the weight of the rest of the chimney up to the roof,i also put a lintel in(just incase i got my assumptions wrong!!)made a big difference in the kitchen so if u have a terraced house and have an entry with archway this can be done,hard work but worth the effort.
    :j looking after the housekeeper sir !!
  • ukjoel
    ukjoel Posts: 1,468
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    Have you considered just taking it out from the loft down?
    We have a similar property to yours and when we moved in the chimney breast had been taken down to loft level (ie it was in the loft but not above roof line) I paid a brickie £120 cash for the day and spent the day moving the bricks downstairs as he took them out.

    He did such a decent job that very little plastering involved and was able to do it all myself.

    Dont see it being anywhere near 2,500 especially if your not using lintels.
    Perhaps if you get pros in and they use scaffolding and do everything properly your looking at 500-1000.

    If your comfy getting on the roof (or even doing it from the loft) then its just the cost of the skip.

    J
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