Removing a chimney when fires are no longer used increases living space and in certain rooms, such as bedrooms, makes it much easier to arrange furniture.
Older properties were built with fireplaces in every room but with modern central heating, chimney breasts are often unused and considered as wasted floor space. Given that in London for example, residential floor space can easily cost £5,000 per square meter and over £10,000 per square meter in central boroughs, finding an extra few square meters of living space by taking out a chimney, can add real value to a property.
However it’s definitely not a straightforward task. The chimney breasts are part of the building’s structure and they should be approached in the same way as taking out a load bearing wall. We have therefore created this simple checklist of the various stages to consider in taking out a chimney.
If you would like some free advice on taking out a chimney, please click on our Party Wall FAQ’s, RICS Building Surveys or Refurbishment, Alteration and Extension pages.
We would be delighted to help you with your chimney removal project from start to finish, please contact us here.