Removing a chimney breast is structural work, whether it is one floor or two. The stack above has to be carried on something, and that decision belongs to the structural engineer and to building control. We appoint the engineer, build to the calculations and coordinate the application. Free quotation, no obligation.
Building control has to see a chimney breast removal
Elmbridge Building Control Services states that building regulations approval is needed for internal alterations to a dwelling if the alterations are structural. It names removal or part removal of a chimney breast as one of its two examples. The service is a staff owned company, describing itself as the first building control mutual in the country, and it works for Elmbridge Borough Council and for Epsom and Ewell.
Three routes are available. A full plans application is assessed before work starts. A building notice is assessed during the inspections. A regularisation application covers work already done without approval. That last one matters here. If a breast was taken out by a previous owner and no paperwork exists, regularisation is the route to ask about, and it is worth raising before a sale rather than during one.
The stock at Heath Road and south of Oatlands Village
Both are period housing, described in the council's own character assessment. Elmbridge Borough Council describes the Heath Road area, from Brooklands Lane to Bridge Road, as containing many large Victorian and Edwardian suburban villas and terraces with some modern infill. The residential roads south of Oatlands Village it describes as relatively high density, containing mainly two storey 19th and early 20th century houses. Density matters for a breast removal, because a neighbour may share the stack. Where the party wall is involved you may need a party wall award. We are not party wall surveyors, so that is a separate appointment you make.
If the stack comes off the roof in a conservation area
Then the outside of the building changes, and planning becomes part of the job. The Weybridge Town Centre Conservation Area was designated on 25 April 1977 and extended on 6 December 2006. It centres on St James' Church and the listed buildings in Church Street, extending to the Quadrant and Heath Road. Elmbridge Borough Council states that most planning applications in a conservation area require an accompanying heritage statement. Taking the breast out internally and leaving the stack carried above can be the cleaner answer, and the engineer will tell you whether gallows brackets will do it.
- Ceiling and joist support where the breast carried them
- Soot and debris contained with screens and sheeting
- Rubble bagged and carried out rather than dropped inside
- Hearth removal and floor structure reinstatement
- Full chimney stack removal and roof making good
Why Weybridge Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
The price turns on one question. Can the stack above be carried on gallows brackets, or does it need a steel beam. That is settled by the structural engineer and by building control, not by whoever is quoting, so we get it answered before we give you a figure. Fully insured, building control applications and inspections coordinated, and one point of contact from the first visit to sign off.
- Site left safe and secure at the end of every day
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- The retained stack inspected from the loft before we start
- Hearth and floor structure reinstated where the breast is removed
- Roof, flashing and leadwork made good where a stack comes down
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records