GS Renovation removes chimney breasts in Hemel Hempstead, on one floor or through the house, with whatever remains above properly supported. Nothing is cut until a structural engineer has designed that support, whether it is gallows brackets or a steel beam. We coordinate the building control side from the first notice to the final inspection.
Sign off comes from Hertfordshire Building Control, not the council
Dacorum Borough Council does not run its own building control service. Building control for the borough is provided by Hertfordshire Building Control, contactable on 01438 879990. Removing a chimney breast is notifiable work, because you are taking out something that is carrying load and leaving the rest of the stack above it. The engineer's design and the inspections both run through that route, and we handle the application and the appointments.
Whether gallows brackets are accepted or a steel beam is required is not a decision we make on site. It follows from the engineer's assessment of the load above and the condition of the wall the brackets would fix back to. We price both routes at quotation stage, so the figure does not move once the design comes back.
Written authority for demolition in the conservation area
It applies inside the conservation area boundary. In a Dacorum conservation area, written authority is needed to demolish or partly demolish a building larger than 115 cubic metres in volume, including some garden walls and chimneystacks. The Hemel Hempstead conservation area was originally designated on 7 October 1968, with an adopted boundary amendment on 21 January 2014, so the boundary is worth checking rather than assuming. Where a stack is coming down above roof level there, we establish the position with the council first.
Stacks and flues on a frontage
Those need planning permission inside the conservation area. In the Hemel Hempstead conservation area, installing, altering or replacing a chimney, flue or soil vent pipe on a wall or roof slope that fronts a highway and forms the principal or side elevation requires planning permission. A breast removal that ends with the stack taken down and the roof made good changes what is visible from the street, so we raise it at survey rather than when the scaffold is already up.
- Flue capping with ventilation to keep the stack dry
- Making good, plastering and reinstating the wall line
- Skirting, cornice and picture rail matched back in
- Building control notification and inspection sign-off
- Ground floor removal with the upper stack fully supported
Why Hemel Hempstead Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
On chimney work the sequence is planned before anything is broken out: engineer first, support designed, the stack above held, then demolition in stages from the top down. That order is what keeps a partial removal safe and keeps the rooms above intact. We are fully insured, we sheet and clean as we go in an occupied house, and you have one point of contact from survey through to the completion certificate. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
- Neighbours given notice before the noisy stages
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Hearth and floor structure reinstated where the breast is removed
- Roof, flashing and leadwork made good where a stack comes down
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on