Chimney Breast Removal Hertford
Chimney breast removal with steel beam support in Hertford, the beam sized by the engineer we appoint and the work signed off by building control.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- Guide from £2,200 (London-derived)
- Free site survey, itemised quote
Removing a chimney breast in Hertford has a planning angle as well as a structural one. The council's own appraisal has named chimneys as a feature it could protect. The support method, usually a steel beam, with gallows brackets only where the engineer and building control accept them, is decided by a structural engineer we appoint, not by preference.
For Hertford, on London-derived ranges removing a breast on one floor typically costs £2,200 to £3,250 on a steel beam, and £3,000 to £5,000 across two floors; Hertfordshire work generally runs below that. GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Hertford.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative range |
|---|---|
| One floor, steel beam (the usual route) | £2,200 to £3,250 |
| One floor, gallows brackets where the engineer and building control accept them | £1,500 to £2,500 |
| Two floors | £3,000 to £5,000 |
Indicative London ranges (MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026), not a quotation. Hertfordshire work generally runs below the London figures; your price follows a site visit. Prices checked September 2026. Full breakdown: Chimney Breast Removal Guide.
How the job runs
- Free site survey at your Hertford address: which floors the breast runs through, a shared stack, any live flue.
- The engineer we appoint designs the support, and the work is registered with Hertfordshire Building Control or an approved inspector. On a shared wall you serve the party wall notice as building owner; we supply the drawings.
- The floor above is propped and the breast comes down in courses from the top; what remains sits on the support the engineer specified.
- Building control inspects the support before it is covered. We make good, and the completion certificate follows.
Why chimneys are a live issue in Hertford
The council has written them down as worth protecting. The 2017 Hertford appraisal names chimneys as a feature it could protect by Article 4 direction, if members decided to proceed. It describes them as chimneys in good condition, contemporary with the age of the property and prominent in the street scene.
The confirmed conservation area Article 4 directions East Herts lists are the two made for Bishop's Stortford on 14 June 2017 and confirmed on 15 November 2017, and the council has authorised a programme to extend directions to its other conservation areas, so check its current Article 4 list for your address. The stack above the roof is still worth settling early, so we establish the position for your address before the work is planned.
Housing in Hertford
About 14,040 homes are listed for Hertford, and the mix is 69% houses to 31% flats, with 74% built after 1945, 9% in 1919 to 1939 and 16% earlier. 33% of homes here are terraced; a terrace breast in Hertford usually sits on the party wall, so removal needs a notice.
The building control route for a chimney breast
The application does not go to East Herts District Council. Building regulations applications for Hertford go to Hertfordshire Building Control. They are submitted online through the portal at submitaplan.com, and the operations team number is 01438 879990. We make the application, book the inspections and meet the inspector on site.
Costs follow the support method. One floor with a steel beam, now the usual route, runs from £2,200 to £3,250. One floor where gallows brackets are accepted runs from £1,500 to £2,500. Two floors runs from £3,000 to £5,000. Those are indicative London ranges, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026. Which method applies is the engineer's decision.
Terraces where the stack is part of the street scene
Some Hertford terraces are described with their chimneys named. Numbers 65 to 89 Port Vale are a late 19th century two storey terrace of yellow brick, since rendered, with slate roofs and prominent chimneys.
Where a stack is shared with the house next door, or reads as part of a run of chimneys along a roofline like that, the plan has to deal with what is left above as well as what is taken out below. Support for the remaining stack, weathering and the roof reinstatement are all part of the same design.
- Programme planned around party wall notice periods for a shared stack
- Fireplace opening infill and new plasterboard finish
- Chimney breast removal on one floor or on every floor
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Hertford Bengeo, Hertford West, Hertford Foxholes and Hertford South. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Trusted Chimney Breast Removal in Hertford
The chimney question in Hertford is a consent question before it is a structural one, because the appraisal has already singled chimneys out. So the order is: establish the planning position for your address, let the engineer specify the support, usually a steel beam, with gallows brackets only where building control accepts them, then submit the building regulations application and build to the calculations. We coordinate the applications and inspections, and quotations are free and without obligation.
Reviewed jobs near Hertford
1 MyBuilder review from Hertford, with each customer's own job title:
- Tile kitchen splash back, Hertford, 18 Jul 2021 (5 out of 5)
Read all 31 on our reviews page.
We loved working with George and Ibrahim and would highly recommend them. They have done splendid job on our new kitchen refurb which including new…
Punctual, worked hard, and did exactly what he was asked and what he said he would do. Overall, a very high quality job. Will use again.
What can I say!!! George is an extremely lovely man his workmanship is second to none, he has an excellent eye for detail and nothing was to much…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Chimney Breast Removal Hertford
How much should chimney breast removal in Hertford cost?
The cost of chimney breast removal in Hertford is typically £2,200 to £3,250 for one floor on a beam (London-derived), and the SG13 survey decides where in that range your job lands. The biggest mover is what the survey finds: whether the stack above is kept or taken down decides the support and roof work. GS Renovation shows the Hertfordshire Building Control fee on its own line, and the written figure follows within days of the visit.
The breast is in a rat trap bond wall on Bengeo Street. Can gallows brackets still be used?
That is for the engineer and building control, and rat trap bond makes it a closer one. A steel beam is now the usual route in any case. Numbers 22 to 40 Bengeo Street are built with bricks laid on edge, which the council describes as an unusual bonding used in the 19th century. Brackets rely on the host wall taking the load, so the brickwork is opened up and assessed before a method is fixed. The appraisal also says that brickwork should not be painted or rendered over.
Can a chimney breast come out of a listed house at all?
Listed building consent has to come first, and internal fabric is caught by it. The 2017 appraisal records nearly 280 listed building groups inside Hertford Conservation Area, so this is a live prospect in the older streets. The same controls reach structures within the curtilage built before 1 July 1948. That application is decided before a breast is opened up, and building regulations approval runs alongside it. We establish both positions before quoting.
Fairfax Road is named in the Kingsmead plan as protected from demolition. Does that cover taking out a chimney breast?
That protection is about the building, not about internal masonry. Within the Tamworth Road, Fairfax Road and Ware Road extension to the conservation area, the Kingsmead plan records 52 unlisted buildings, two of them in Fairfax Road, which contribute to the area and should be protected from demolition. Removing a breast inside is a building regulations matter. Taking the stack down above the roofline changes the elevation, and that is where the policy is read.
How does the masonry get out of a house on the narrow streets of Lower Bengeo?
By hand, along a route planned before the first brick moves. The Bengeo plan records more than seventy streets and roads in the ward, with Victorian housing on the narrow streets of Lower Bengeo and on Folly Island. A breast produces tonnes of brick and mortar. Without side access, the arisings come out through the house over protected floors. Where the street cannot hold a skip, the collection arrangement is agreed before a start date.
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Chimney Breast Removal Near Hertford
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