Is planning permission required to knock of chimney breast!

sarah_id1

kingstreet wrote: »

This is what Waltham Forest's site says in response to a quick google on the issue. Have you tried speaking to the local authority concerned?

http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/environment/building-control/information-guide/chimney-breast-removal.htm

This statement in Chimney breast removal guidance doesn't make sense. It should have been other way.
However, a Building Regulations application is required when some but not all of a chimney is removed.

RAS

Hi

If you remove all the chimney from ground floor to above the roof, and reinstate a roof and floors, then the structure should be safe.

If only the lower portion of the chimney has been removed, as per post 7 and 8, there is a whacking great chimney up there with nothing holding it up, and it may just come down one day. Dangerous.

Friends were forbidden to move into a property where the ground floor chimney had been removed but the chimney breasts on levels 1, 2 and 3 had been left in situ. They had to get acro-props installed to support the floating chimney breasts, and then get it removed from the top down.

kingstreet

sarah_id1 wrote: »

This statement in Chimney breast removal guidance doesn't make sense. It should have been other way.
However, a Building Regulations application is required when some but not all of a chimney is removed.

Is it?

It was an example. Which is why I recommended you speak to the local authority where the property is located.

GavB79

I removed a chimney up to the loft space and had a gallows bracket supporting the remainder. Didn't realise I needed Building Regs, and the builder that did it said nothing about it either.
I can see it would be useful though, as the house next door had done the same but placed a 2x4 beneath it to hold the whole thing up.

ab7167

BR should be obtained for removal of a chimney breast, as it is affected by what your neighbour has done - you can't (or shouldn't!) have gallows brackets on both sides. So if you want to remove your chimney breast and the neighbour (the one sharing the chimney) has already done it with gallows brackets, you will need a proper beam installing to ensure that the chimney left remains stable.

zizu73

We have had our chimney breast removed from the ground floor up to the attic. What would you recommend me to do to have a peace of mind as our builder didn't mention anything about building regulations approval nor did he gave us any certificate regarding the work. How do I make sure that it is properly supported and safe? Thanks!

ab7167

designtent wrote: »

Your local authority planning dept will be able to advise you, they are generally very helpful. You definitely need to satisfy yourself that the remaining stack has been supported correctly, this is usually achieved with a steel shelf or beams.

It is not uncommon to hear of chimney's collapsing due to not being adequately supported.

Good luck

It's Building Control you need, not planning.

There are 3 ways of removing a chimney stack safely.

1./ Remove all of it

2./ Use gallows brackets. These look like right angle triangles sticking out of the wall underneath the remains of the stack, with a concrete lintel spanning between them. These can only be used in limited circumstances so care must be taken or you may find yourself with an unstable chimney stack

3./ Use a steel beam. This will span between the nearest 2 loadbearing walls and support the remains of the stack.

It is possible to get retrospective compliance with Builidng Regulations, the officer will come round and inspect the work and tell you if it up to standard. If you are unsure, give them a call and ask. I doubt this service is free, but it will give you peace of mind and allow you to sell the house with a minimum of fuss once the certificate is in place.

zizu73

ab7167 wrote: »

It's Building Control you need, not planning.

There are 3 ways of removing a chimney stack safely.

1./ Remove all of it

2./ Use gallows brackets. These look like right angle triangles sticking out of the wall underneath the remains of the stack, with a concrete lintel spanning between them. These can only be used in limited circumstances so care must be taken or you may find yourself with an unstable chimney stack

3./ Use a steel beam. This will span between the nearest 2 loadbearing walls and support the remains of the stack.

It is possible to get retrospective compliance with Builidng Regulations, the officer will come round and inspect the work and tell you if it up to standard. If you are unsure, give them a call and ask. I doubt this service is free, but it will give you peace of mind and allow you to sell the house with a minimum of fuss once the certificate is in place.

Thanks for this info. So if he removed all of it you think it should be safe? Do you have any idea how much would it cost to get in the officer and get a certificate?

ab7167

By all of it I mean the bit above the roof line as well - so there would be nothing at all left of the chimney. Is this the case? Or is the stack visible above the roof? Also would depend on any modifications your neighbour (if you have one) sharing the chimney has done.

Your local council website may be able to help with retrospective compliance. What does your builder say? I'm not sure of costs to be honest....

zizu73

There is still part of the chimney above the roof top so it's not completely removed. Our builder says that it is supported by 3 joists with 15cm bolts.