GS Renovation removes redundant chimney breasts across Hammersmith, reclaiming space in the Victorian and Edwardian terraces that fill W6. With over 30 years of structural experience in west London, we take out breasts safely, properly support the stack above and square off the room so there is no sign a fireplace ever stood there.
Removing a chimney breast in a Hammersmith terrace
Most Hammersmith terraces still carry their original breasts, projecting into the reception rooms and bedrooms and eating into the floor plan. Because the breast helps support the masonry stack rising above it, we never simply knock it out. A structural engineer first confirms what is being carried, then specifies how the retained brickwork above will be supported once the breast at that level is gone.
Where a breast is removed on a lower floor with stack remaining above, we support that stack on steel gallows brackets bolted into the party wall, or on a small beam where brackets are not suitable. On homes where the stack is fully redundant and runs to the roof, it is often cleaner to take the whole stack down and make the roof good. A stack is never left unsupported.
Party wall and damp control in W6
In these terraces the chimney stack sits within the party wall shared with the house next door, so removing a breast or bolting gallows brackets into that wall is notifiable under the Party Wall Act. We serve notice on the neighbour before work starts, which is routine for the tightly built streets between Fulham and Shepherd's Bush and keeps everyone informed.
The structural support is inspected under the Building Regulations by Hammersmith and Fulham building control, not planning. We also deal with the practical details that matter in a period home: capping any redundant flue with ventilation so the stack breathes and damp cannot build up, then replastering the wall flush. The finished room reads as if the breast was never there.
- Making good, plastering and reinstating the wall
- Flue capping, ventilation and building control sign-off
- Chimney breast removal on one or all floors
- Gallows bracket support for the stack above
- Steel beam support where brackets are unsuitable
Why Choose GS Renovation in Hammersmith
Hammersmith homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat chimney breast removal as the structural job it is. You get an engineer-designed support solution, gallows brackets or a beam fitted correctly, party wall notices and building control handled, and tidy working in an occupied W6 home. More than 30 years across the borough's terraces stand behind the result.
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Over 30 years of experience
- Dedicated project management
- Fully insured and guaranteed work
- Building control and planning support
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople