removal of MY side of chimney stack and breasts

simonjones24

excuse the spelling... I dont think while im typing...hmmm maybe thats why i aint be polite on here!

Razor

Firstly the abc with the arrow underneath really is a spoll chicker!!

You had a builder round to do the job without any official sanction and they wouldn't let you do it? I'm not even gonna go there.

What you need to do is ring your local building control and ask them for their position, you need to support your half of the stack, gallows brackets are now banned as far as I am aware, flitch beams seriously affect access to the loftspace, the usual way nowadays is an rsj fitted right across the loft against the party wall with a steel plate sitting on top under the remaining brickwork, once this is done removal of the brickwork below is relatively simple but very messy, dont forget to have your chimney pots capped.
The next tricky bit is usually extending the first floor joists and fitting new flooring.

If you are talking to your neighbour I would suggest you ask if your corgi relative can smoke test their chimney you need to make sure there is no damage to the flue allowing products of combustion into your house, (bad for you) and that you haven't dislodged anything and blocked their chimney, (bad for them) if they have a gas fire perhaps a free service might help;)

paddy's_mum

simonjones - thanks for coming back with more information. I believe you have received good advice from Razor on the practical aspects of doing what you want. However, I think your cost estimate of £1 - 2k may be wide of the mark.

We had a structural engineer come to do an assessment of our loft to see whether it was suitable for conversion. His bill was £700 and that was five years ago.

You will then need to invoke the Party Wall Act and pay for a surveyor for yourself as well as a separate surveyor for your neighbour. If there is any kind of disagreement between the two properties, the PWA allows the appointment of yet a third mediating surveyor - all of which is billed to you. Likely fees? I don't know but you can bet it won't be the cost of a bag of potatoes.

Then add on building regs fees, bank-demanded one-off insurance, scaffolding, labour, skip hire ... and the costs may well be far in excess of the figure you are hoping for.

From what you have said, it would seem that your neighbour is likely to be hostile to the works. You put one foot wrong, and you can bet he'll be off to his solicitor to seek an injunction. If he is successful, the court may well order his costs be paid by you. My recent boundary dispute experience suggests that the costs of an injunction will easily exceed £1k.

It's your house and your plans to achieve what you wish so I cannot argue with that but as I previously suggested, I think you need to do a lot more research before touching so much as a single brick. A forum is not the right place to seek accurate advice. If we advise you wrongly and it all goes pear shaped, we can't be sued for professional negligence.

One further point, and it touches on something others have said during this thread. I was recently house-hunting for a property to buy to retire to in a few years time. You can choose not to believe me but it is true that I instantly rejected any house that did not have a chimney. It mattered not to me that the fireplace might have been decomissioned so long as the chimney itself remained to take a wood burning stove. With the west held to ransom over oil and so many older people finding it difficult to afford coal and other fuel, I would not willingly sacrifice another feasible way of cooking, keeping warm and boiling water as well as surrendering my ability to cope during this region's frequent and long lasting power cuts.

The choice is yours but I suspect there is much for you to think about. Good luck.

marybishop

simonjones24 wrote: »

OK, guys lets start this again...


i know i have to check with party wall act, bulding reg and structure eng to have the job done.. however, i thought if i jus take my side of te stack down i did not think party wall act would come into play, can anyne state if im right here?

Quote from RICS Useful Guide on Party Walls - 'What is covered by the Act? - Cutting into a wall to take the bearing of a beam'. If I were you I would speak to an RICS surveyor specialising in party walls and get some proper advice. Some give 30 mins free advice over the phone. Then you will know exactly what you have to do with regards the PW Act. www.rics.org 'Find a Surveyor'.

hethmar

(Waves to Paddys mum )

Yes, you will need to get Party Wall approval - which your neighbours can challenge.

I cant see it is a practical exercise in an attached building. I would hazard you are going to spend at least £5k removing your chimney - scaffolding/engineers/building regs/the actual work including skips, replastering etc.

Meanwhile, our phone hasnt stopped ringing with people asking how they can reinstate their fireplaces because of the current fuel prices.

The little bit of space you may gain - balanced against the aggro and the potential loss of price when you sell a house without the potential to have a woodburner or open fire - is it really worth it? Is there no other way you could add extra space?

paddy's_mum

Waves back to hethmar

simonjones - hethmar and I are old 'friends' from another forum but we have both endured the stress and agony and sheer bluddy expense of having to deal with a neighbour dispute. The two of us are, without any doubt, well placed to tell you that if you are not very careful indeed, you are going to be living in a hell of your own making! In our own case, dealing with a semi-senile neighbour has cost (so far, mind you!) in excess of £13,000 and we are not at the end yet!

Good luck with what you propose to do but for heaven's sake, look carefully before you step. Are you in agreement with that view, hethmar?

hethmar

Paddys mum you know how I feel about it. 3 years of hell - priceless.

slummymummyof3

With regard to the PWA, your surveyor would issue the relevent notice(s) to your neighbour. They then have 14 days to agree and just sign the forms, dissent (appoint either their own PW surveyor or agree to use yours) or ignore the notice (in which case the Building Owners (B/O) surveyor prepares the schedule of condition of A/O's property and prepares the award). Quite a costly exercise before you even get to do any of the work!!!! - you will have to provide plans/drawings of the works you are doing to the surveyor(s).