Unsupported chimney stack

Confusedchicken33

Hi, confused first time sellers here! 

We’re currently in the process of selling our home & the buyers lender has flagged that they require proof the chimney has been supported. 

It’s been removed from the kitchen but remains in the bedroom above and loft - it’s on our detached side of the house so no party wall to consider. 

This wasn’t a problem for us or for the people we bought from so we weren’t expecting this when selling. 

We’re trying to understand what our options are and would appreciate any advice on experience with this on how it was resolved? 

Is there a (slim) chance a structural engineer could say it is safe as is? 

Do we need to look at getting it supported? Or is the best scenario to just have the whole thing removed? 

Thanks in advance 

theartfullodger

In your shoes I'd have had this checked before you purchased... 

Problem will be to establish what ) hopefully) RSJs have been put in and how they are themselves supported will almost certainly require opening up plaster/ceilings/floor-boards etc etc.

I invite local builders and surveyors round to quote for whatever they think they can do 

Lucky you to have got this far without there being an "accident"!  Would insurance have paid out?......

Dustyevsky

A structural engineer will only be able to ascertain adequacy by having the support for the remaining stack exposed. Obviously, this depends on exact circumstances, but the first place to look, if it's not evident from below, is under the floor in the upstairs room adjacent to the chimney.

It used to be that people could get away with using steel gallows brackets to do the supporting, but now a properly specified lintel or steel is required.

Albermarle

Or is the best scenario to just have the whole thing removed? 

One advantage of this route is that is gives more free floor space, so if you were continuing to live there it would probably be the best option. Obviously as you are selling it complicates the situation as it would probably cost a few grand to do it . Less if the chimney stack on the roof has already been removed.

nicmyles

This was the case when I sold a flat (hadn't been flagged during my purchase by surveyor). My buyer accepted indemnity insurance and bought the flat without further query.

Albermarle

nicmyles said:

This was the case when I sold a flat (hadn't been flagged during my purchase by surveyor). My buyer accepted indemnity insurance and bought the flat without further query.

What was the indemnity insurance for? Presumably it did not cover the possibility of the chimney stack collapsing ?

nicmyles

Albermarle said:

nicmyles said:

This was the case when I sold a flat (hadn't been flagged during my purchase by surveyor). My buyer accepted indemnity insurance and bought the flat without further query.

What was the indemnity insurance for? Presumably it did not cover the possibility of the chimney stack collapsing ?

I think it was up to rebuild value of the property, but as you say only in the case of enforcement. I am presuming the OP isn't that worried about collapse given they're selling - just making the point that some buyers/solicitors/lenders are fine with indemnity and no further investigation.

Noneforit999

Any idea how long ago it was removed?

If i was 30+ years ago, it may have little support other than some corbelling and sitting on timbers which might have been perfectly adequate back when it was removed but it wouldn't be enough by modern regs. On the other hand, they may have fitted an RSJ which sits alongside the floor joists so you can't see it.

It should have had building regs to remove it but again, if it was decades ago, it probably didn't. 

If there is no RSJ, its unlikely a structural engineer is going to deem it suitable.

If its the lender that has queried it rather than the buyer themselves, you may have to do something about it. First thing would be to get it checked, you could even pull the carpet up in the room its still in upstairs, get the floorboards up and look to see if there is any support to begin with. 

You could chance your arm and go back via your solicitor saying the work was done by the previous owner and you have no knowledge of it. Might be worth calling your local building control on the off chance they did get it approved but you were not given the paperwork.

Section62

Noneforit999 said:

You could chance your arm and go back via your solicitor saying the work was done by the previous owner and you have no knowledge of it. Might be worth calling your local building control on the off chance they did get it approved but you were not given the paperwork.

As this will probably rule out the possibility of getting indemnity cover it wouldn't be a good idea (at least not at this stage)