chimney breasts removal

sal176

we have a chimney breast with a back boiler behind it and a gas fire and also chimney breasts in the kitchen and 2 bedrooms are they costly to remove and does anyone know what a average price is

aboard_epsilon

i dont know the prices ..all i know if you get the cheapest price there is a possibilty that the job w ill not be done right

not done right means someone will support the rest of the stack with a 2x4 wood...seen it done a few times...so watch out !!!

all the best.markj

MrsE_2

Think twice about removing it.

How many times do you see a bombed out derelict house & virtually all thats left is the chimney breast, its often the most solid part of a house.

SailorSam

So long as it's done properly it can make a big difference to the room but expect a lot of mess.
We had a chimney breast in a bedroom taken out years ago, we had a plasterer in doing some work and mentioned to him we'd like it done. He told us he could do it and sent me out for a steel lintel which he put in the loft before removing the brickwork. It was probably a year later i went up in the loft for something and noticed the lintel, it was slid under the rest of the chimney but wasn't touching anything, not holding anything up, just loose. Tried to contact the plasterer but he was well gone, probably doing thru-lounges and putting more useless lintels in.

sal176

thanks for advice but they need to come out the house we have bought has got rooms only the borrowers can live in but taking the chimney breasts out will give us a extra 4 foot makes a big difference

hethmar

Oh, but losing a possible alternative source of heating .............think twice about it.

wallbash

Horror story after Horror story :rotfl:
Took my first chimney breast our over thirty years ago , house is still standing, Yes in the past , standards were different , RSJ were not used as standard.... did say over thirty years ago. Stacks were corbelled back. Then we used rsj , then some councils allowed gallow brackets.Our local council won't pass them now.Is it worth doing , of course it is , thats why so many were removed.The usable space gained is now even more valuable.

How much does it cost . haven't a clue. But I vividly remember manhandling a 17 foot RSJ thru a 1st floor window.

Photo's are to be found on this web site:D

wallbash

ref .. First-time house renovation
post #1965 about page 100

Before:rotfl: H/S got started

iamcornholio

Apart from the obvious of getting it done correctly and notifying building control, make sure you either check with the neighbours first, and/or tell them what you are doing

You don't want to be in a position where one neighbour has already done this, and when the other subsequently does it, you find that the party wall becomes unstable