Chimney stack issues

[Burnz0]

Hi All. I’ve recently purchased a property (mid-terrace 1900s) and there seems to be potentially big issues with one half of the chimney at the rear of the house.
In the loft, there is a big diagonal crack going through the diagonal section of the stack that goes up to the roof level. A section of the bricks could easily be lifted out & the pointing is generally shot & just crumbled in your hands. In the rooms underneath there are cracks in the plaster that appear to carry through to the underlying brickwork & there’s clearly been some remedial work done in the past. It’s an old house so I’m not sure if it’s a recent problem or has been that way for ages but obviously I’m keen to get it fixed/prevent any further damage.
I’ve attached some photos if anyone is able to comment on what might be the issue and, more importantly, what the fix is?
(If it makes any difference, my neighbour on that side has a loft extension with a dormer(?) at the rear so I wonder if that has somehow compromised the integrity of the whole stack. As far as I know they still have their chimney breasts in place in the main house but not sure about the loft)
Thanks!
(The photos should be from roof to ground floor)

 

[KenGMac]

Burnz0, good evening.

Think it is best to describe the construction as non-conventional??

Several issues, in the loft, bricks appear to be supported by the timber? and loose brickwork attempting to bridge the gap between the recessed part of the wall and the timber??

All looks pretty original brick dimensions are all over the place typical of mid 1900s and probably built with Lime Mortar, hence you can lift out the loose ones, far from ideal.

A couple of things.
1/. What type of survey was undertaken on the property at time of purchase? + Any advisory notes in this survey about this loft wall?
2/. When did you conclude the purchase?

Any chance of external images please of the stack?

You could be looking at a protracted re-pointing effort here, where you need to rake out and re-point SMALL areas of brick so as not to de-stabilise a large area of the wall? one one day you could re-point areas of brick well away from each other ?

That timber support is a different matter, some of the bricks have already slipped and moved?

Ken.

 

[Burnz0]

Thanks for your response.
It seems like the timber was there as a secondary support whilst the diagonal bit of the stack was formed but the bricks should be (or should've been) self-supporting.
I didn't get a survey done as I bought it on the basis that it was a full refurb at a discounted price, with my thoughts at the time being that any discount would soon be eaten up by the survey cost (i may obviously regret that now or later down the line). I've had it a few months and have been cracking on with other stuff/putting this bit off!
I'll take some pictures of the external stack when i can. i did have a roofer replace some flashband with leadwork up there and he didn't think there was anything obviously wrong and i only went with the lead for my own piece of mind. He did suggest that if the chimney hasn't been used for some time - it was an empty property for several years before me - that there could be some water damage and i guess that particular section would be where any rain that gets in would run across the bricks - although it wasn't actually leaking.

The plan is/was to - support the bits above the obviously loose section and rebuild and then, as you say, repoint everywhere else that needs doing in sections at a time. I'm inclined to think it's a problem that's built up gradually over the years so whilst it needs fixing it's not going to fall down all of a sudden! The supporting bit and rebuilding is a bit out of my comfort zone but i think i can manage the re-pointing, although it may be easier to just add that as part of the job when i get someone in.

 

[tel765]

Thats a very conventional Flue Gathering on a loft perty wall. The pictures of the stack will show how many flues you have on your side. If you visit the neighbours and see if they have full chimney breasts all the way up to their side of the stack?
The party wall needs making good because its a fire risk at the moment.
I think the way you can rebuild the flue gatherings is as you say to do a bit at a time. Afterwards let off smoke bombs to see if theres any leaks in the flues for fumes to leak out of.