Chimney Breast Removal in Greater Manchester

Why landlords remove chimney breasts

A redundant chimney breast in a Victorian or Edwardian bedroom eats around half a square metre of floor and, more importantly, ruins the usable rectangle of the room. In a small third bedroom that is often the difference between fitting a double bed and not — which in rental terms is the difference between advertising a two-bed and a three-bed.

Across the terraced stock in Salford, Oldham, Bolton, Failsworth and Ashton-under-Lyne, chimney breast removal is one of the highest-return small jobs a landlord can commission. The fireplaces have been sealed up for forty years and are doing nothing but blocking the room and, in a lot of cases, drawing damp in from a redundant flue.

The three types of removal

Ground floor only. The breast is removed downstairs and the remaining stack above is supported on gallows brackets or, more commonly now, a steel beam. Gallows brackets are only acceptable where the brickwork is sound and the loading is modest; a structural engineer decides, not the builder.

First floor only. Less common, but the same principles apply in reverse — the stack above needs supporting and the floor structure below needs checking.

Full removal including the stack. The whole thing comes out from roof to ground floor, the roof is made good and the ridge or verge re-tiled. This is the tidiest long-term answer and removes any future maintenance on a redundant stack.

• Structural engineer's assessment and calculations
• Building Control notification
• Scaffolding where stack removal is involved
• Careful demolition with dust sheeting and negative pressure where needed
• Steel or gallows bracket support to remaining structure
• Floor and ceiling joist repairs and infill
• Roof making good and re-tiling on full removals
• Plastering to a decoration-ready finish

What chimney breast removal costs

A single-floor chimney breast removal with steel support, Building Control and plastering typically runs £1,900 to £3,200. Removing both floors and the stack, including scaffolding and roof works, usually falls between £3,500 and £6,000.

The variables are access, whether scaffolding is needed, the condition of the brickwork, and how much making good is required to the floors and ceilings. We survey and give you a fixed figure.

Getting it wrong is expensive

Unsupported chimney breast removal is one of the most common serious defects found in home buyer surveys. A stack left hanging on nothing but the adjoining brickwork will eventually crack the party wall, and the discovery usually happens at the worst possible moment — when a buyer's surveyor writes it up.

Every removal we do is engineered, notified and certificated. You get the paperwork on completion, and it stays valid for whoever buys the property next.