Remove chimney from loft

[Glastoun]

We're looking to get an internal wall chimney breast removed, along with the ground floor dividing wall. We have an engineer and builder lined up to spec and do the work, so it will all be done professionally to building control regulations.

But there is a stack of bricks in the loft, already under the roof line. Is there any reason we couldn't take a chisel to the mortar and remove it ourselves brick by brick from the top? We would stop when we got to the loft floor, but above that it looks fair game as it's not supporting anything.

The builders seemed to think it would be a fairly long job for 2-3 men, mainly due to getting the bricks down through the small access hatch and out to the skip, so we want to know if this is something we could do ourselves to cut costs.

Photos below if it helps:

//www.diynot.com/network/Glastoun/albums/20867

 

[tony1851]

Perfectly DIY-able; it's practically all labour. If you have the time, why pay someone else for theirs?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Photos below if it helps:

//www.diynot.com/network/Glastoun/albums/20867

Step 1
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[pinenot]

To use up some of the good bricks -

Untitled

• pinenot
• 29 May 2014
• 1

...pinenot

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I see no mortar or fixings.

Let's hope nobody ever accidentally bangs into an end of that.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You're such a little man you would have to watch your head on that top shelf!

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Shame you can't have "being wrong" as a specialist subject on Mastermind - you would do well.

 

[geraldthehamster]

But there is a stack of bricks in the loft, already under the roof line. Is there any reason we couldn't take a chisel to the mortar and remove it ourselves brick by brick from the top?

No reason at all, but if you use a jack hammer it will be a lot easier. By which I mean an SDS drill with a chisel bit in it. Which is what I did.

Cheers
Richard

 

[Glastoun]

No reason at all, but if you use a jack hammer it will be a lot easier. By which I mean an SDS drill with a chisel bit in it. Which is what I did.

Cheers
Richard

Thanks for this, bought an SDS drill with chisel and took the first brick out in about ten seconds, so this could save us £s in paid labour, if not ££s or even £££s.

Any tips for when I come to the ceiling void of the first floor? I presume at some point I'll have to switch from working in the loft to working in the bedroom.

And is there anything to look out for that should make me stop and get a builder to carry on with the rest? There's a plug socket at the lower end of the bedroom breast, but apart from that there shouldn't be any electrics in it. Should I check it with a wiring detector first?

 

[geraldthehamster]

Any tips for when I come to the ceiling void of the first floor? I presume at some point I'll have to switch from working in the loft to working in the bedroom.

When I removed my chimney breast, it was from the roof space of a dormer bungalow. A couple of ceiling joists of the ground floor room were supported by the chimney breast. However, I left the breast in place in the room below, for decorative purposes, so didn't need to worry about that. In the case of your bedroom ceiling, as you are removing the breast, I would check whether a ceiling joist or joists might be supported by it - check which way they run and whether an end sits in the bricks. If so, you'll need to fix a trimmer between the joists either side of the breast and fix the cut joist ends to that. If you're not happy to do that, then this is the point where you might need a builder, or a carpenter.

And is there anything to look out for that should make me stop and get a builder to carry on with the rest? There's a plug socket at the lower end of the bedroom breast, but apart from that there shouldn't be any electrics in it. Should I check it with a wiring detector first?

There is unlikely to be wiring in the chimney breast. If you remove the face plate from the socket (having first turned off the power at the consumer unit), you will probably find that the cable comes up into it from below. You'll need to relocate that socket. If you're not confident with wiring then get an electrician to do it.

Cheers
Richard

 

[Glastoun]

Almost finished the loft section, SDS is the way to go, especially if it's concentrated on the join line between brick and mortar as it splits them apart, rather than trying to chip out the mortar itself.

I'd like to continue to take the first floor and ground floor sections out, but am unsure whether this would require building control approval. There is nothing being supported above the bricks I would be taking out, but around the sides they are tied into the (single skin) bathroom and dining rooms walls, so may be providing structural stability. We would angle-grind these bricks in half to leave the wall flat.

Some council websites say that chimney breast removals are notifiable, but then go on to talk about steels which we won't need as there would be nothing to support above; and others say that it is notifiable if some but not all of the chimney is removed, and we would be removing all of the chimney.

 

[geraldthehamster]

If you're not sure what you're doing, I would at least post some clear photos here and ask for advice from the builders (i.e. not me).

Better still, if you know a builder, ask them to look at it.

I'm sure all will be fine, but you don't want to embrak on potentially structural work without being certain.

Cheers
Richard

 

[ree]

To OP,

Almost any structural work requires BCO approval - removing any part of a chimney breast, or the whole chimney breast, on a shared party wall is Party Wall Act territory.

FWIW: almost any kind of work on a party wall, or work that might affect a party wall comes under the Party Wall Act.

 

[Glastoun]

Called BCO (Glasgow, think the regulations may be different in Scotland from rest of UK) and they confirmed that removal of the whole chimney breast to the loft (the stack has already gone from the roof) doesn't require a building warrant. Was expecting to have to justify it, but once I said there was no roofwork involved they said it was fine.

Based on the regs http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/B...-standards/publications/pubtech/th2013domcomp (section 0.5 Type A1) it seems to be because the chimney breast isn't an element of structure (not loadbearing and doesn't support a floor) and the bathroom wall isn't a separating wall, and we're not adversely affecting it.