Chimney breast - cost to reinstate?

woodbutcher_2

I am a bit loathe to give advice on what is potentially a dangerous job.If you did decide to go ahead with putting two pillars down to the ground,then there would almost certainly need to be a "footing" of some kind,preferably a slab in the region of a minimum 8 inches thick.It's a bit difficult to see from that picture what you have.In theory you could end up with something resemling the second picture but you would need to be very careful in the execution.I would recommend getting an experienced builder round to have a look for you.A lot of old chimneys are tied into the house wall and are solid enough to work on 'til you get all components supported.

Silvercar,i would certainly have this checked out by a competent surveyor before contemplating buying this house.Lots of people have chimney breasts removed without properly supporting the stack above and it is potentially lethal.The proper way of doing it is to remove the whole lot from the top down or have the remaining stack properly supported on RSJ's.Again,only a structural engineer can say for certain.

tomstickland

Seeing how the chimney breast was removed, then it's a pretty simple job to put the brickwork back in. Cost will involve materials: bricks, mortar and a day or two of labour by a bricklayer. Then it has to be plastered.
I'm guessing around £1000.

silvercar

thanks, how much does it cost to have the stack supported by an rsj (or gallows bracket)?

monkey_writer

I was told today by an experienced project manager that gallow brackets are no longer allowed by buildings regs as they are not deemed to be strong enough. The only way to do it is to rebuild or to put a concrete/steel beam in the ceiling.

Does anyone know any more about this?

tweed13

Hi,

I have been looking at buying a house but was wondering about the chimney. THe breast has been removed downstairs from floor level to about a foot below the ceiling, and there is a steel RSJ across the stack. The breast appears to be intact on the floors above, and on the roof.

I was just wondering about the cost and implications of rebuilding the stack in the ground floor to put a working fireplace back in?

Any ideas rough or otherwise on cost and any thoughts on the implications of doing the work would be appreciated!

Thanks

kookie2829

I too am moving into a detached house with the chimmney breasts removed, you can see them on the outside of the house (if that makes sense!) not knowing much about buildings, i would love to reinstate the chimmney if possible so that i can have real fires next Christmas.
does any one have any ideas cost ect ect or if possible. Many Thanks Kookie

macman

silvercar wrote: »

Wow, looks great!

Can I butt in with a question on a similar topic?

House I'm looking to buy has had the chimney breast removed in the bedroom, but its still in place in the loft!

Apart from not putting my bed directly underneath what would it cost to put right?

Its a detached house so there is no party wall to worry about.

If it's already got gallows brackets in place, then there is nothing to put right. If it hasn't, then the whole lot is potentially dangerous and it should be a condition of sale that the work is carried out prior to exchange and Building Regs approval obtained. Any mortgage offer would also require this work to be done.

silvercar

Err thanks. That was a question in 2006!

yvonne763

kookie2829 wrote: »

I too am moving into a detached house with the chimmney breasts removed, you can see them on the outside of the house (if that makes sense!) not knowing much about buildings, i would love to reinstate the chimmney if possible so that i can have real fires next Christmas.
does any one have any ideas cost ect ect or if possible. Many Thanks Kookie

I'm looking to buy a house where I'd need to reinstate the chimney breast. I know what Kookie means about seeing them on the outside of the house, but inside the chimney breast has been removed.
How much would it cost to add a new chimney breast? I've been googling for ages and most of the related topics are about the cost of removing them!
Many thanks
Yvonne