Removal of chimney breast in house

trumpton

Screwfix direct have a builders forum - I am sure if you posted on there someone would give you a rough estimate for either a) an rsj to support the chimney above the removed chimney breast, or b) cost of removing chimney in bedroom and loft space above. I would be surprised if it would be more than £1200 or so, though if this is a large percentage of the house price obviously you may wish to reconsider purchase, or ask the vendor to pay/go halves. You need to get the floorboards up to have a look, though - you could be worrying about nothing.

Surveyors have to point these things out and err on the cautious side.

ninky_2

lovemotown wrote: »

Now youv'e got ME worried!

I plan to put my house on the market shortly and my builder friend took our chimney breast out about 15 years ago.

Are we saying I should have got permission / regs as I know loads of people who have taken them out, (including my adjoining neighbour) without planning permission!

Will this be a problem if I find a buyer??

yes you should have got planning permission. what is keeping the chimney stack up if the breast beneath is removed??

i wanted to remove the chimney breast in my kitchen but the builder wouldn't do it without seeing the relevant permissions from the council. i called the council and they needed a survey and drawing showing what support would be put in. i couldn't be bothered in the end as i needed to move in within a month of purchase.

having said that, a mate of my OH knocked all the chimney breasts out of his 1930s house himself, didn't have planning permission and sold the house no problem. but buyers / valuers / surveyors might be less glib in a falling market.

lovemotown

I can now definately say it was 16 years ago and the builder shored it up with something but can't remember what. He is a mate so I wouldn't have a problem getting him back if it comes up on a survey. I would just have to decide what to do. Either continue up with it to the roof, or, hack away at the wall/ceiling and see what he used and fix it up to today's standards. Do I then have to apply for someone from the council to give me a ceertificate? and what would that cost?

Doozergirl

ninky wrote: »

yes you should have got planning permission. what is keeping the chimney stack up if the breast beneath is removed??

i wanted to remove the chimney breast in my kitchen but the builder wouldn't do it without seeing the relevant permissions from the council. i called the council and they needed a survey and drawing showing what support would be put in. i couldn't be bothered in the end as i needed to move in within a month of purchase.

You do not need planning permission! It's building control approval and you're entirely wrong about the builder wanting to see papers from the council. You don't get any paperwork from the council until they've inspected the work being carried out - ie. once the builder is in! It might have been that he wanted to see the calculations of a structural engineer to show what sized RSJ was needed to support the weight, but that entirely independent of the council. The council would also check that same paperwork to ensure he'd put the correct RSJ in.

Doozergirl

ninky wrote: »

yes you should have got planning permission. what is keeping the chimney stack up if the breast beneath is removed??

You do not need planning permission! It's building control approval, completely different things. The only thing that lack of building regs means is that the work hasn't been checked by the council. You can't draw an immediate parallel between the lack of a certificate and the quality or safety of the work carried out.

ninky wrote: »

i wanted to remove the chimney breast in my kitchen but the builder wouldn't do it without seeing the relevant permissions from the council. i called the council and they needed a survey and drawing showing what support would be put in. i couldn't be bothered in the end as i needed to move in within a month of purchase.

You're also wrong about the builder wanting to see papers from the council. You don't get any paperwork from the council until they've inspected the work being carried out - ie. once the builder is in! It might have been that he wanted to see the calculations of a structural engineer to show what sized RSJ was needed to support the weight, but that entirely independent of the council. The council would also check that same paperwork to ensure he'd put the correct RSJ in.


OP if you have a full survey on an old house, it is going to read like that. The fact is that the surveyor can't get behind the walls or under the floor and so he has to cover his back by telling you to get it checked. Most people seem to think that a survey will check everything, but it doesn't! Most houses will have slightly out of date electrics, all old houses will give a damp reading even if there isn't 'damp' because houses were made to breathe back then. And a damp company will always sell you a damp solution because that is what they do - it still doesn't mean there is a problem!

Unless the vendor has taken the house and stripped it right back to the bare bricks and started again, there's always going to be something that could be improved upon; whether or not it's unsafe is another question.

The chimney issue belongs to the vendor. If they need to be out at the end of June then that's better for you - they won't find someone else that quickly and even if they did there's no guarantee for them that these issues won't be raised again for them.

i1189

We had this problem, which showed up on the survey. Just got a quote from a builder and knocked that off the price. It worked out cheaper to remove what was left of the chimney than to support it with brackets. As ours was only in the loft space it was all done from outside so no mess in the house at all.

planning_officer

ninky wrote: »

yes you should have got planning permission.

Wrong!! - planning permission is not required to demolish a chimney stack. Building Regs is another matter though... (see other posts above).

macman

You will also require to serve a Party Wall Notice if the stack involve is on a party wall. It's nothing to do with planning permission-purely a building control matter.
In the case of the OP's property I woud be more concerned about 'unearthed electrics on a modern unit'. If the wiring is recent, how can the circuits be unearthed? Even on an older system it's only the lighting circuits that were left unearthed (before about 1965).

divadee

macman wrote: »

In the case of the OP's property I woud be more concerned about 'unearthed electrics on a modern unit'. If the wiring is recent, how can the circuits be unearthed? Even on an older system it's only the lighting circuits that were left unearthed (before about 1965).

i can agree with this, when we moved in our house, it was wiring from the 50s. we had it all rewired. the lighting circuits had no earth. but the sockets circuits was all earthed as it should be. it is now all earthed with a modern fuse box etc... in.

GDB2222

cherry76 wrote: »

it has 30 yrs guarantee but company no longer exists.

Well, that's a surprise.