Removing a chimney breast

McLovin28 · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:54 pm Post Subject: Removing a chimney breast

I am wanting to remove a chimney breast from my small spare room to give me more room and in turn give me more room to extend the bathroom into the spare room, here is the current layout:

Here is the layout I want:

Here are the pictures of the room, and you can see the breast runs the full length of the room with the cupboard built into the alcove at the end:

This is the room below incase that helps:

The stack on the roof is shared with the next door property and so I would like to leave it up there still if possible.

1) What I am wanting to know is what kind of job am I looking at?
2) How big is it?
3) Does the size of the job outweigh the benefits?
4) Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?

Thanks for looking

ColJack · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:37 pm Post Subject:

fairly huge...

steel beams to support the remaining stack, engineers to do load calcs for you..

yes it outwighs the benefits..

one leg, one arm, one left testicle and your firstborn child....

gday2uk · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:30 pm Post Subject:

Should have done it before the kitchen was put in

What is holding the middle of the stack up between the two pillars in the kitchen?

McLovin28 · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:35 pm Post Subject:

No idea that was already done in the kitchen before I bought it.

ColJack · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:18 pm Post Subject:

I'm hoping it's a properly sized beam spanning between those 2 remaining walls, hence why they're still there..

you could do similar in the bedroom, but that still leaves you with 2 walls sticking out and gets you no help of moving that door..

without anything to support the other end of a beam ( one end could be on the side wall.. ) then you're getting stuck..

Shytalkz · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:01 pm Post Subject:

Beam from the front wall to the rear of the stack, onto another beam spanning parallel with the front wall, party wall to party wall; or, if the wall between the bathroom and spare wall is load bearing, spanning the second beam from the party wall to that wall; or if the wall between the hall and bathroom is load bearing, putting the second beam on there.

jackm · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:24 am Post Subject:

I can't see the pictures in your first post so apologies if this is well off the mark but have you thought of gallows brackets in the loft? worth getting an engineer to do some calcs to see if they would support the load...

Shytalkz · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:53 am Post Subject:

Gallows brackets: not good in old brickwork.

gday2uk · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:22 am Post Subject:

Building control probably wont let you use gallows brackets on shared stack. Depends on neighbours stack situation - whether it is intact completely or partially or not present at all. It does complicate things.

str · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:24 pm Post Subject:

just a thought, but do you know if your neighbours still use the stack for any fires/appliances?

if you, you could share the cost and have the stack removed completely

McLovin28 · Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:54 pm Post Subject:

str wrote:

just a thought, but do you know if your neighbours still use the stack for any fires/appliances?

if you, you could share the cost and have the stack removed completely

I don think thay do use it but I dont think they'll be up to removing it (awkward neighbours), how much of a job is that if I can convince them to do it?

gday2uk · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:17 am Post Subject:

They don't have to take theirs down completely, just below roof level so you can take all yours down and not have to worry about the stack. Not sure if you would need to reinforce the party wall at all?? I sure someone will comment soon enough.