GS Renovation removes chimney breasts across Havering, from the 1930s semis of Hornchurch to the interwar terraces around Romford and Upminster. With 30+ years of structural work in RM2, RM11, RM12 and RM14, we take out redundant breasts, support the stack left above and leave the room squared off and replastered.
Chimney breasts in Havering's 1930s semis
Most of Havering's interwar homes were built with chimney breasts in the front reception and back kitchen, and in the borough's semi-detached houses those stacks and flues usually sit within the party wall shared with next door. Because the breast helps carry the masonry above, we begin every job with a structural engineer's assessment of exactly what the wall is holding before anything is taken out.
On the lower floors we support the retained stack with steel gallows brackets bolted into the party wall, or a small beam where the brackets are unsuitable for the loading. In taller houses, or where you want the full breast gone through both floors, we more often remove the whole stack and make the roof good, so nothing is ever left hanging unsupported.
Party wall and building control in RM postcodes
Because Havering's semis and terraces share a party wall with the neighbouring home, and the chimney stack usually sits within it, removing a breast or bolting on gallows brackets is notifiable under the Party Wall Act. We serve notice on the neighbour before work begins, so the shared wall is dealt with properly and there are no disputes later.
The structural support is controlled under the Building Regulations, and Havering Council's building control signs it off, no planning permission is needed for this internal work unless the house is listed. We manage the lot: the engineer's calculations, the party wall notices, safe removal and propping, capping any redundant flue with ventilation against damp, and replastering so there is no trace the breast was there.
- Party Wall Act notices for shared stacks
- 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
The GS Renovation Difference in Havering
Havering homeowners choose GS Renovation because we treat chimney breast removal as structural work, never a quick knock-out. You get an engineer-designed gallows-bracket or beam support, party wall notices and building control handled throughout, tidy working in an occupied home, and a fully certified result, backed by 30+ years across the borough's RM streets.
- 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