- Joined
- 8 Oct 2021
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
Hello,
I've recently purchased my first house, a semi-detached house and had both ground floor chimney's removed, the upstairs one (in both rooms) is still intact.
When the builder initially gave me quotes, he expected a RSJ needed to support the chimney, upon removal of the bricks, he said it wouldn't need one as it was a "fake chimney wall".
I assume he meant it wasn't a structural part of the house and didn't need any support, he continued to reinforce it a bit more by adding more timber pieces connected to the joyce.
I've attached a picture of how it looked when he broke it down (excuse blue lines, just shows the timber support lines) and a close up picture of above .
I had notified the neighbours of the works that will be happening, once everything was finished she called the council to come inspect her chimney as some pieces dropped on her side, could be mortar or something and she was concerned of carbon monoxide.
Anywho I had received a letter from the Building Control Department with them paying a visit already, and after seeing it in person (everything is complete, i.e. PVC the bonding, plastering, painting). They needed proof if there was a support beam in place during demolition of the chimney breast, whether it was a Gallow bracket or RSJ. As far as i'm aware, the builder didn't put neither of those as "it wasn't needed". He also said there wasn't much space to run a steel beam across? So I'm a bit lost here
I didn't realise I had needed to submit a Regularisation application and obtain a certificate prior to any works, didn't even realise I needed approval as I thought you don't need planning permission (Excuse me as this is still all new to me).
What case do I have here, or what can I do? Are the above supports needed in this case for this type of chimney breast? Can a RSJ be fitted afterwards without ruining the current plaster/works done already?
Thanks and sorry for the long post!!
I've recently purchased my first house, a semi-detached house and had both ground floor chimney's removed, the upstairs one (in both rooms) is still intact.
When the builder initially gave me quotes, he expected a RSJ needed to support the chimney, upon removal of the bricks, he said it wouldn't need one as it was a "fake chimney wall".
I assume he meant it wasn't a structural part of the house and didn't need any support, he continued to reinforce it a bit more by adding more timber pieces connected to the joyce.
I've attached a picture of how it looked when he broke it down (excuse blue lines, just shows the timber support lines) and a close up picture of above .
I had notified the neighbours of the works that will be happening, once everything was finished she called the council to come inspect her chimney as some pieces dropped on her side, could be mortar or something and she was concerned of carbon monoxide.
Anywho I had received a letter from the Building Control Department with them paying a visit already, and after seeing it in person (everything is complete, i.e. PVC the bonding, plastering, painting). They needed proof if there was a support beam in place during demolition of the chimney breast, whether it was a Gallow bracket or RSJ. As far as i'm aware, the builder didn't put neither of those as "it wasn't needed". He also said there wasn't much space to run a steel beam across? So I'm a bit lost here
I didn't realise I had needed to submit a Regularisation application and obtain a certificate prior to any works, didn't even realise I needed approval as I thought you don't need planning permission (Excuse me as this is still all new to me).
What case do I have here, or what can I do? Are the above supports needed in this case for this type of chimney breast? Can a RSJ be fitted afterwards without ruining the current plaster/works done already?
Thanks and sorry for the long post!!