Hi,
Lots of threads on this topic!
I'm just trying to see if ideas are viable at the moment.
I have a 2 story 1920/30's house with 2 chimneys back to back against an interior wall. I want to convert one room into my kitchen and install a rayburn/aga. The chimney breast is not wide enough to widen and fit in the range. An RSJ would be OK across the interior / exterior wall and remove the breast completely, but the house has had problems with subsidence in the past (now underpinned on some exterior walls by insurers) and I'd rather not change the wall loadings in case it starts things off again. I've had enough of cracks!
My idea was to temporarily support the breast, remove it up to almost floor level, build 2 brick columns wider than the existing breast. Tie lintels into the wall supporting the existing breast and support those 2 lintels out from the wall with an lintel across the columns. Does that make sense?
My main unknown is whether the part of the floor the new columns would be built on would be OK to support the load? I'm assuming a structural pad is normally laid under a chimney breast and the floor there has additional foundations to support the chimney? I only need to widen the breast about half a meter total if there are no sides to it. Rebuilding the walls completely instead of columns to create an inglenook would also be fine I think, but the same floor loading question arises.
I know gallows brackets may be an option, though they seem to be falling out of favor? This would however transfer all the load to the wall and I think I'd be happy with a couple columns, in this room at least. I might decide to take the breast out the other side as well at some point. We have a stove in the other removed fireplace at the moment, and will never go back to an open fire.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Lots of threads on this topic!
I'm just trying to see if ideas are viable at the moment.
I have a 2 story 1920/30's house with 2 chimneys back to back against an interior wall. I want to convert one room into my kitchen and install a rayburn/aga. The chimney breast is not wide enough to widen and fit in the range. An RSJ would be OK across the interior / exterior wall and remove the breast completely, but the house has had problems with subsidence in the past (now underpinned on some exterior walls by insurers) and I'd rather not change the wall loadings in case it starts things off again. I've had enough of cracks!
My idea was to temporarily support the breast, remove it up to almost floor level, build 2 brick columns wider than the existing breast. Tie lintels into the wall supporting the existing breast and support those 2 lintels out from the wall with an lintel across the columns. Does that make sense?
My main unknown is whether the part of the floor the new columns would be built on would be OK to support the load? I'm assuming a structural pad is normally laid under a chimney breast and the floor there has additional foundations to support the chimney? I only need to widen the breast about half a meter total if there are no sides to it. Rebuilding the walls completely instead of columns to create an inglenook would also be fine I think, but the same floor loading question arises.
I know gallows brackets may be an option, though they seem to be falling out of favor? This would however transfer all the load to the wall and I think I'd be happy with a couple columns, in this room at least. I might decide to take the breast out the other side as well at some point. We have a stove in the other removed fireplace at the moment, and will never go back to an open fire.
Thanks for any thoughts.
