fitting bathroom sink into back of unused chimney

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Surrey
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We have a disused chimney that has been removed from the ground floor but remains between a bedroom and the bathroom on the first floor (steel rsj fitted) before going up and out through the roof. The opening on the bedroom side has been sealed up. We are looking to install a new bathroom suite and are considering opening the back of the chimney up to house the sink and some storage space. Does it need a structural engineer and/or building control sign-off?
 
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How has it been sealed up, and what do you mean by "Opening the back of the chimney up?" If its just plasterboarded up, then I would say it's fine to open it up, and just use that recess as space to house your unit.

If you need to do something that is going to effect anything structurally, (I.e. you need to move a steel, or you are going to be taking bricks out of the chimney stack) then you'll need to get in contact with Building Control.
 
Hi

The original opening was in the bedroom, this has been sealed up with plasterboard. The rear of the chimney is in the bathroom and it's this side that I want to open up and set the sink into.
 
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So what you want to do is make a large hole (well sink-sized hole anyway) in a structural loadbearing wall? At the very least you'll need to treat it as if you were putting a window in a blank wall (so you'll need a lintel over the top) and very definitely notifiable work. Chimneys act as buttresses as well as smoke conduits so chat up your BCO, if you're lucky and he/she is switched on they'll tell you exactly what you need to do to maintain the integrity of the wall (if it is a wide chimney and a narrow opening then a lintel would probably do, you might end up having to put a goalpost or a square in).

From a usability point of view you need to think about sound travelling from the bathroom into the bedroom as well- I'd suggest bricking (or blocking) where your plasterboard is now and building a false stud wall to hang the sink on (to decouple the noise the sink will make from the bedroom). Don't fix the studs to the bedroom wall.......
 

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