Taking out a chimney breast removes a load bearing element from the middle of the house, so whatever sits above it has to be supported. That is either gallows brackets bolted to the party wall or a steel beam, and a structural engineer decides which. We appoint the engineer, build the support, and coordinate the building control inspection in Esher.
Chimney breast removal and planning permission in Esher
Inside the house, chimney breast removal is a building regulations matter rather than a planning one. The Esher Conservation Area Character Appraisal names the removal of redundant chimneystacks as a minor work that does not require planning permission there. No Article 4 direction covers any part of Esher, so permitted development rights have not been withdrawn.
The appraisal states that properties in the conservation area which are single family dwellings hold permitted development rights. That matters where the stack above the roof is coming down as well as the breast inside. It does not extend to a listed building, where consent is needed for the internal work too.
The Esher houses where chimneys are part of the street
Elmbridge records tall chimneys as part of the character of Lower Green Road. Houses fronting that road immediately south of the railway line are described by the council as having a garden suburb quality, with cottage scale, tall chimneys and eaves half-dormers. Wolsey Road is typified by high quality late 19th century two storey dwellings set slightly back from the road on a consistent building line.
Where the stack is part of that view, keeping the stack and removing only the breast below is one option. It is the case that needs support designed and installed, whether gallows brackets or a beam. Building control inspects that support before it is plastered over.
Terraces and shared stacks
In a terrace the stack can be shared with the neighbour. Elmbridge records Park Road as closely packed mid to late 19th century houses, with a long terrace of two storey houses on the west side. Where the breast sits on a party wall, the Party Wall etc. Act applies and notice is served before work starts.
A shared stack also means a neighbour's flue may run through your breast. That is checked at survey, before anything is cut, and the flue is kept serviceable or capped as the engineer and building control require. Nothing is opened up until the answer is known.
Building control for a chimney breast removal
Chimney breast removal is notifiable work and needs a building control application. Building control for Esher is provided by Elmbridge Building Control Services Limited, known as EBCS, and we make the application and arrange the inspections. Gallows brackets are used only where the engineer and the surveyor accept the party wall brickwork as sound enough to carry them, and the surveyor sees the support before it is covered.
- Ventilated caps and airbricks to disused flues
- Gallows bracket support for a retained stack above
- Loft inspection of the retained stack before work starts
- Structural engineer's calculations arranged and followed
- Building control notification and inspection sign-off
The GS Renovation Difference in Esher
Chimney work is as much about what stays as about what goes. We appoint the structural engineer to decide between gallows brackets and a steel beam, build to that decision, and coordinate the building control inspection of the support before it is hidden. Waste is the other half of the job. A breast over two floors produces a serious volume of brick and soot, so removal, protection of the route out and making good are priced in rather than added later. One point of contact throughout, fully insured, free no obligation quotations.
- Rubble bagged and carried out, not tipped into the room below
- Paperwork and certificates handed over for when you sell
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Founder-led team with 30+ years of hands-on experience
- Roof, flashing and leadwork made good where a stack comes down
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts