I realise that this is the DIY newsgroup, and I don't plan to do this myself but I thought you might be able to help me. I'm currently viewing places to buy and a number of the upstairs 2nd bedrooms have fireplaces which take up quite a significant amount of space in the room (they are Victorian terraces that I'm looking at).
I was wondering how easy it is to knock out the fireplace and the chimney stack to make more room as I plan to rent out the 2nd bedroom. Is it easier said than done? Are chimneys seen as a central support in Victorian properties?
Basically, it depends on the type of the chimney construction and possibly, depending on this, the attitude of the neighbours.
There are two common chimney layouts in 2 storey Victorian terraces.
Flues are in a square formation. The party wall runs right through the middle of the chimney. Normally, the chimney pots will be 4 in a square, although this is not guaranteed. The chimney breasts will be narrow and deep.
Flues are in an inline formation. The party wall does not run through the middle. Your flues bulge into your neighbours property and, crucially, their flues bulge into yours. The chimney pots will be 4 in a line, although this is not guaranteed. The chimney breasts will be wide and shallow.
Basically, you can remove type 1 above without permission from your neighbours. It is a big job, but emminently doable and commonly done. It will need building control approval. The stack above the removal will need support using beams or gallows brackets to the approval of the BCO. The floor support and surface will need rejigging.
Type 2 requires that your neighbour provides permission, as you will also be implicitly decomissioning their flues. If they also want to remove their chimney, then you could split the costs and remove the whole thing. The job is much more substantial, however, as during removal, there won't be a party wall in place, so one will have to be built and support given to the rest of the house.
However, luckily, because the square formation is the most bulky and deep and less elegant, it is normally the type people object to enough to bother removing...
(b) where the work is to a party structure or external wall, subject to carrying any relevant flues and chimney stacks up to such a height and in such materials as may be agreed between the building owner and the adjoining owner concerned or, in the event of dispute, determined in accordance with section 10
Er, maybe because he hasn't got a builder because he hasn't yet bought a property?
Simple answer is yes, it's a lot easier said than done: properties vary of course but generally a chimney breast/stack is pretty integral to the house, and removing them needs care to ensure everything remains properly supported. Potentially pretty expensive I'd have thought.
Indeed. You don't need their permission. If they attempt to withhold it, it will be granted by a court instead. However, if their flues intrude across a straight dividing line between your houses, it doesn't give you a right to pinch their property and close off their chimney!
(b) each party shall appoint a surveyor and the two surveyors so appointed shall forthwith select a third surveyor (all of whom are in this section referred to as "the three surveyors").
Nope. Far better to get in quick and do the work before an injunction is issued. It is a cheaper method. No penalties are specified for failure to obey the Party Wall Act. IANAL etc. etc.
Just obey the spirit of the law by doing the job properly, using a structural engineer with insurance and fix any damage done to the neighbour's decoration with good grace.
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