Opening chimney breast for cooker

InhaleMood

Hi,
We are looking at partially opening up a chimney breast in the kitchen to put the oven in.
I contacted the council regarding building regs, and they have given a quote (£400ish).
However, the 3 builders I am currently getting quotes from don't believe that building regulations need to be met as the whole chimney isn't being taken out.
I'm happy to do it if the council says it is compulsory, but I'm starting to wonder if it actually is.
And is it a warning sign regarding the builders?
Thanks

pramsay13

If you are just taking away the material that was used to close up an old chimney and it still has the original lintel I don't see how you would need council approval. 
We opened up an old chimney and put in a stove and didn't need it. 

Section62

tanyasharma said:

Hi,
We are looking at partially opening up a chimney breast in the kitchen to put the oven in.
I contacted the council regarding building regs, and they have given a quote (£400ish).
However, the 3 builders I am currently getting quotes from don't believe that building regulations need to be met as the whole chimney isn't being taken out.
I'm happy to do it if the council says it is compulsory, but I'm starting to wonder if it actually is.
And is it a warning sign regarding the builders?
Thanks

It depends exactly what work is involved, but if you will need some kind of new support (e.g. a lintel) to allow the opening size to be increased then it is a structural alteration and you should get BR signoff.

Two points you can be fairly clear about are -

1) Building regulations need to be met whenever relevant work is done.  The main difference is one of process - whether the work needs to be notified or approved in advance.

2) Taking the whole chimney out is definitely not the only situation in which building regs apply.  The builders are spinning you a yarn with that suggestion.

The building control process helps protect you against cowboy builders doing defective or dangerous work - if builders don't understand how building regulations work and when they apply then it raises wider questions anout their knowledge and skills.

FreeBear

Section62 said: 2) Taking the whole chimney out is definitely not the only situation in which building regs apply.  The builders are spinning you a yarn with that suggestion.

A number of builders do not understand when and where Building Control (and therefor Building Regulations) needs to be involved. Unfortunately, it the home owner that is left to carry the can along with the risk of enforcement and/or prosecution when work is carried out that is subject to BC oversight.

In all probability, the existing lintel in the chimney (it could be a brick arch) will be way too low for it to be practical to slot a cooker in to the space. If a lintel does need to be fitted at a higher level, you may well need a structural engineer to advise as well as BC involvement. You may also find a substantial amount of brickwork forming the gather needs to be removed - If this is the case, additional support may be required. Do not underestimate the amount of rubble that will be generated or the weight of brickwork remaining.

InhaleMood

Thank you all.
The builders are all so adamant which confuses me.
My preference would be to safe rather than sorry, so it will be interesting to see if the builders are happy to go along with it. It shouldn't make a difference to them, if they are going to do a good job!

stuart45

It's a structural alteration. If you take out a damaged lintel, and replace it with one of the same size it's seen as maintainance and doesn't need regs.
If you widen the opening on a structural component it needs regs.
Doesn't really matter what builders say if the BCO says you need them.
Many jobs like this get done without regs, and problems usually only come up when selling, although a lot of surveyors are looking more for the complete removal, and don't recognise this as an alteration needing regs 
One thing a lot of builders don't realise is that they can be prosecuted up to 2 years after completion of the works.