I've got a house where the previous owners had removed the chimney breast up into the attic but left with little to no support. It's on the party wall where two chimey breasts (front and back) in each house gather to a single stack. My front chimney has been removed to attic height. Turns out neighbours ground floor back chimney (so diagonally opposite) has been removed from the ground foor (left in the bedroom).
My neighbour is refurbing and extending their home and have gone ahead and installed a steel beam below the ceiling in the bedroom and knocked out the remainder of the chimney in the bedroom. I had suggested removing the chimney stack but they refused. Their builder was not interested in doing work to my chimney. no party wall agreement in place.
I want to get my chimney properly supported. I've been given two options
1. structural engineered gallows brackets in the attic, which will invole removing half the remaining chimney bricks and the SE says that the party wall bricks where the gallows go (where the chimney will be removed) will have to be replaced. Local buiding control allows gallows brackets.
2 Insert a spliced steel beam across the external wall and internal wall with a steel plate on top and build up brick work to the attic to support the chimney. Due to hipped roof eaves this will come down some way into the bedroom
My concern is the likelihood of causing damage to neighbours property as they've just replastered (having knocked there plaster off, plasterboarded and replastered). I was just after experiences of doing the above work and the risks involved. To my novice eye the work inserting the gallows brackets (replacing bricks) seems like it will put more stress on the party wall than inserting a beam into the side walls and building the chimney back up. I don't know how the chimney was constructed and how easy it is to remove bricks from the party wall.
The picture is of the insertion of the beam into my neighbours side. Can anyone tell from this how the party wall is constructed? Is it a cavity wall?
I'm minded to go for the steel beam insertion even though I'm losing space and it will cost almost double. Relations with the neighbours are not the best.
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
My neighbour is refurbing and extending their home and have gone ahead and installed a steel beam below the ceiling in the bedroom and knocked out the remainder of the chimney in the bedroom. I had suggested removing the chimney stack but they refused. Their builder was not interested in doing work to my chimney. no party wall agreement in place.
I want to get my chimney properly supported. I've been given two options
1. structural engineered gallows brackets in the attic, which will invole removing half the remaining chimney bricks and the SE says that the party wall bricks where the gallows go (where the chimney will be removed) will have to be replaced. Local buiding control allows gallows brackets.
2 Insert a spliced steel beam across the external wall and internal wall with a steel plate on top and build up brick work to the attic to support the chimney. Due to hipped roof eaves this will come down some way into the bedroom
My concern is the likelihood of causing damage to neighbours property as they've just replastered (having knocked there plaster off, plasterboarded and replastered). I was just after experiences of doing the above work and the risks involved. To my novice eye the work inserting the gallows brackets (replacing bricks) seems like it will put more stress on the party wall than inserting a beam into the side walls and building the chimney back up. I don't know how the chimney was constructed and how easy it is to remove bricks from the party wall.
The picture is of the insertion of the beam into my neighbours side. Can anyone tell from this how the party wall is constructed? Is it a cavity wall?
I'm minded to go for the steel beam insertion even though I'm losing space and it will cost almost double. Relations with the neighbours are not the best.
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
