Does anyone know the rough/estimate costs of removing a chimney breast along the size shown in this picture
I would be fairly confident about doing the work on the removing the bricks etc, but would probably want 3rd party to brick it back up and install the reinforcement for the breast above.
personally, I'd save myself a lot of money and potential trouble by building some quality book cases either side of the breast.
RT
Looks very similar to the cimney breast in my front room. I looked at getting mine removed, but discovered that there was also 4 water pipes and an electrical conduit in there too, so decided not to bother!
Also, you could open out the fireplace and use it as a display area or somewhere for the Hi Fi. I unblocked a bricked up fireplace a year ago and did this. I put in a recessed plasterboard roof to seal the flue off from the room (and put an airbrick through from the flue to the outside just above to ventilate the flue). Dropped a lighting cable down the flue from a second airbrick vent into the loft at the top, with a small hidden light on the new piece of plasterboard, and that maes the fireplace into a nice display area. Also, as the rear of the fireplace was only a single skin brick north facing outside wall, I lined the back with 1" cellotex and plasterboard, so it wouldn't get condensation (and it hasn't).
I like your idea, as it would get round one of my problems. I am looking to put my projector screen up at that end of the room (the fact it would stick out the sides of the breast is the other problem) This would mean all the stereo would be setup for an image in the middle of the wall meaning the TV must also reside there. If the stack remains in stack then the TV would stick out a mile (without spending £1000+ on an LCD and still not getting a picture to match my CRT) If i did as you described I could house the TV in it.
How much of the front facing wall would you be able to remove though as surely its still supporting the main breast above it. It would need to be opened up to a good 90cm/100cm wide and a good 1.5m high which is much larger than the standard fireplace gap.
I just removed the bricking up -- I didn't change the original brickwork. The walls forming the chimney breast either side of the fireplace are the width of the length of a brick IIRC from memory -- about 9" wide, or 10" by the time both sides are plastered (I plastered the inside of the fireplace). The top of the opening is a brick arch about a metre high of the same type used over the windows of this 1900 house, except it also has a 1/4" thick strip of steel under the brick arch mortared in to the walls either side (presumably to stop the arch dropping if the mortar gives due to the heat of the fire).
I also constructed a new floor in the fireplace. It was just earth and rubble but was bridging the damp proof course. I dug it out down to same level as the damp proof course in the walls, layed a sand bed and a dampproof membrane, and then a layer of vericulite, topped with a layer of sand and cement (should be OK if anyone reverts it back to a working fireplace).
"Rob" wrote | Does anyone know the rough/estimate costs of removing | a chimney breast ... | I would only be looking to remove it from the lower | floor, it can remain in the rooms above (guess it | would also need blocking off on the roof) | I would be fairly confident about doing the work on the | removing the bricks etc, but would probably want 3rd | party to brick it back up and install the reinforcement | for the breast above.
In most cases you will be better removing the chimney breast right up to the attic, as the supporting steelwork can be accommodated more easily in the larger space and this will cause less disruption than trying to fit steels between floors.
You will require Building Regulations approval for this work, including structural calculations on how you are going to support the remaining work. These calcs will probably have to be signed off by a structural engineer. If the breast is on a party wall (in England and Wales) the Party Wall Act will also apply.
When you appoint a builder you should make it a condition of the contract that the work is carried out to the satisfaction of your StructE and have the StructE inspect the work before paying the builder. You really need the StructE before the builder, because the StructE can prepare working dwgs and specs against which you can invite builders to quote.
Removing the chimney breast without supporting the stack above is probably the most common cause of "I did some DIY and the house fell down" stories, and builders cannot be relied upon to do the job properly on their own initiative.
Once the steelwork is in, removing the brickwork below is diyable.
Owain
Did you see that cowboy builder programme a while ago where someone had "supported" the stack with a bit of 4x2? :-0
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