A room in the ground floor of my house (early 20th century) has a brick pier starting halfway up the wall. During some renovations today I chipped the plaster off and found it's actually an old flue from a coal-burning appliance (probably a water heater or kitchen range, due to its location). I know it was coal as once the bottom plaster was off I pulled a balled up newspaper out and a bucket or so of soot fell out!
The underside of it is a solid concrete slab with a hole through the middle, then the bricks are built up on top of the slab. This slab appears to be constructed into the brick wall, so the flue is cantilevered off this slab. The part I can see is approx 1.5 bricks x 1.5 bricks.
Following upwards, the flue becomes the leftmost quarter of a wider chimney breast on the first floor (i.e. two flues running in one chimney breast).
Is this a common building technique of that era? Is there a standard way of removing the ground floor part without compromising the 1st floor part? Removing the slab and reinserting above ceiling height?
The underside of it is a solid concrete slab with a hole through the middle, then the bricks are built up on top of the slab. This slab appears to be constructed into the brick wall, so the flue is cantilevered off this slab. The part I can see is approx 1.5 bricks x 1.5 bricks.
Following upwards, the flue becomes the leftmost quarter of a wider chimney breast on the first floor (i.e. two flues running in one chimney breast).
Is this a common building technique of that era? Is there a standard way of removing the ground floor part without compromising the 1st floor part? Removing the slab and reinserting above ceiling height?
