Hi,
In the room with the sloping roof (see earlier post), there is a small (9 inches deep, 40 inches wide) fireplace. I know it's a fireplace because the occupants of the other end-of-terrace said they had the same thing and there is the "shadow" of a small mantle piece which has been plastered over. The "interesting" thing about this chimney breast is that it is only 9 inches deep and there is no chimney stack on the roof above it - only a ventilation tile. The room is on the first floor and the (gently sloping) roof is directly above the ceiling. I suppose there could have been a small stack in the past that was removed when the house was re-roofed (about 20 years ago).
Enough speculation. The question is, can I just knock out the fireplace? The room is to become a bathroom and I'm not removing a priceless architectural feature of the house (the front room fire is used - smokeless fuel, of course). I am supposing underneath the (to- be-removed) ceiling will be the laths then the beams supporting the roof. Most of the roof beams will run from one supporting wall to the external walls. However, the beams won't project to the edge of the roof where the fireplace is. I am guessing the end of the roof beams will rest on the part of the chimney breast that projects into the room. So .... if I knock down the chimney breast won't the beams come a tumblin' down because they will have lost their support? If yes, how do I remove this chimney? There's no external stack, so I suppose that makes the job a bit easier. If there is an existing FAQ on this subject, I apologise.
Thanks
Clive