Lucky, or what?

[Broadback]

A friend decided to take down the internal downstairs chimney breast, he had no concerns as the upstairs bit and chimney had already been removed. He stripped the plaster the remove a couple of bricks from ceiling level, just out of curiosity he got a torch and had a look at the gap between ceiling and upstairs floor.

Gulp, the beams ran not as he had expected but from chimney breast wall to opposite wall, so if he'd removed much more down would have come ceiling and all.

Lucky fellow, put the bricks back in sharpish though. :-)

[IMM]

He can acrow jack the floor up, take down the breast and attach the joists to the main wall.

[BigWallop]

But it is not recommended to do it that way unless you replace the whole joist span across the room.

[IMM]

Depends. Trimmers can support the joists depending on length, etc. A joist can be bolted to another to extend. I would put one either side. It needs some looking at. Not all are done the same way.

[Christian McArdle]

I can't believe he removed a chimney without pulling up the carpet and a few floorboards upstairs to examine how the builders supported the floor. Whichever way the joists run, there is likely to be use made of the chimney masonry to support joists.

Christian.