False chimney & Breast removal

[tricia118]

Hello, we live in a detached bungalow and are converting our loft ourselves, we have a safety window we need to install however on the wall that we need to install it, is a false chimney breast , there is also a chimney pot on the roof which is absolutely useless , we need to remove the bricks and need to know the best way to approach this , also do we have to remove the pot too or will some sort of support under the pot suffice?

 

[tricia118]

Can anyone offer advice??

 

[bosshogg]

Your chimney and chimney pot are probably a part of the planning regulations for your area (sometime spaced, i.e. not every house in a development) best check with planning control at the local council. The false (buttressed) chimney breast, is simply a support - do not attempt to remove until chimney/pots are removed under any circumstances -.
You can get mock chimneys, supportable from, strengthened, roof trusses, these are made of fibreglass made to look real, you might however find it difficult to get one that matches! search online for false chimneys...but first check with your planning controls dept. at the local council, they can advise and could save a lot of heartache...bosshogg

 

[DaveW]

Hello, we live in a detached bungalow and are converting our loft ourselves, we have a safety window we need to install however on the wall that we need to install it, is a false chimney breast , there is also a chimney pot on the roof which is absolutely useless , we need to remove the bricks and need to know the best way to approach this , also do we have to remove the pot too or will some sort of support under the pot suffice?

Chimneys are invariably an integral part of the structure. That's not to say you can't remove it, or part of it. The issue that stopped me removing mine was the actual pot as it is joined to my neighbour's pot. Aside from the structural implications (I could have done this and will advise later) there was a planning issue in that a semi with only half a shared chimney pot would not have been allowed.

 

[DaveW]

Presume it's an external wall (you a mentioned a window needing to go there . From inspection it doesn't seem a big issue. So long as the chimney isn't holding anything up except itself! You just need to make sure there's not a planning issue (as daft as that may sound) and that the roof ( rafters ) are not supported in any way by the chimney. (They ought not to be as you'll find the rafter structure should be build around the chimney breast) Carefully removing the chimney top down and replacing with brickwork to leave a sufficient aperture for nthe new window, with a small lintel above the cavity to support the new brickwork above the new window, you'll be fine. I'd check all this with your local Council building control office (inspector). You're likely to need to submit a building notice as a minimum (possibly with calcs for the new lintel) and a small fee (circa £60) for the Council to inspect following completion.

 

[DaveW]

ps. If it's the gable end (which it appears) make sure the builder (you?) provides lateral restraint for the new brickwork. (ie. one or two galvanise steel restraint straps bedded into the cavity above the new window and screwed/nailed securely to the roof rafters.

 

[tricia118]

Thank you Dave .I have since found out about "Gallows Brackets" and will have to contact Building Control before we go near it as they did not mention the false chimney in their list of things to do or any problem it may present (its retrospective permission).

 

[tricia118]

Thank you for the advise (bosshog & Dave w )!!!