GS Renovation removes chimney breasts across Hoxton, in the bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces that line the streets of N1. With over 30 years of structural work in Hackney, we take out redundant breasts on the ground and first floors, support the masonry left above and give you back the floor space these deep original breasts swallow up.
Removing a chimney breast in Hoxton
Most Hoxton terraces still carry their original chimney breasts in the front and rear rooms, and they eat into what are already modest floor plans. Because the breast helps carry the masonry, flues and stack above it, we never simply knock one out. A structural engineer first works out what is bearing on it and how the retained brickwork overhead will be held once it has gone.
On the lower floors, where a breast is removed but the stack above is kept, we support the retained masonry on steel gallows brackets bolted into the party wall, or on a beam where brackets are not suitable. Where a full-height stack is redundant, it is often better to remove the whole stack and make good the roof. The one thing we never do is leave a stack unsupported.
Party wall and building control in N1
In Hoxton's tightly built terraces the chimney stack almost always sits within the shared party wall with the house next door. Removing the breast, or bolting gallows brackets into that wall, affects the neighbour's structure, so the work is notifiable under the Party Wall Act and we serve notice before anything starts. We prepare and issue those notices as part of the job.
The support work is a building regulations matter, and Hackney Council's building control inspects the brackets or beam and signs it off, no planning permission being needed for internal work like this. We cap any redundant flue with ventilation to keep it dry and prevent damp staining, then replaster so the room is left square with no sign a breast was ever there.
- 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
- Full chimney stack removal and roof making good
Why Hoxton Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Hoxton 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 properly fixed, party wall notices and Hackney building control handled end to end, tidy working in an occupied N1 home, and a certified result backed by more than 30 years across Hackney.
- 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