Im looking to have the plaster removed from around my chimney breast. I live in a victorian terrace house in Hackney with reasonably high ceiling guessing about 8/ 9 ft. i would like to expose the brick work so there might be some need to repointing. the chimney currently has a firebox inside but the gas unit has been removed and the gas has been capped. In the future im thinking of having a log burner fitted but due to costs i need to take one step at a time.

Please could you advise how much this would cost and how long it would take. Also which profession this would be best suited too, bricklayer / plasterer?

Many thanks for your interest.

I've recently bought a typical terraced property in Patchway; there is a fire place in the living room. This was ripped out by the previous owner, leaving brick work exposed and the enterance to the chimney open to the elements. My question is two fold; What is the best method for closing off the fireplace enterance (I'm thinking of putting a simple electric fire in its place) and then secondly What is the best method for closing off the chimney stack - cover on the top? Blow up block? I look forward to hearing from some professionals!!

Whats the best way to seal the exposed brick work on a chimney to reduce the dust. I also want a matt finish so that its not shiney which i have been advised PVa will leave it.

Thanks

I currently have a builder in to remove a chimney breast from a party wall in both my living room and bedroom. He started from the bottom up, (which I questioned as I assumed he would start in the roof, supporting the chimney stack and work his way down). When I asked him about planning permission he became quite angry and intimidating stating that I didn't need it.
My concerns are:
Do I need planning permission (I know it's a bit late now he's started but I think I need it)?
There is no support to the chimney stack at all. Do I need an RSJ?
In the ground floor ceiling he screwed a joist 'framework' to the existing joists (with 8 screws) and put chipboard over it until I demanded he support the framework to the wall and he put some kind of steel straps in but plastered over it before I could see what he had done.
He hasn't treated the old soot on the wall, (although he said he was going to PVA it) I'm concerned that the soot will seep through the plasterboard which he has dot and dabbed on.
I'm concerned that I have a builder who doesn't know what he's doing, help please!!!

House is semi detached and living room is connected to garden at the back fo the house, is it possible to add a chimney and firepace to the living room?

I am in the process of buying a Victorian terraced house in East London. A chimney breast was removed in the ground floor kitchen in 1998 by previous owners, with the remainder above left in place. Our building survey report states "The chimney breast to the kitchen has been removed and there is no evidence of support to the remainder above. This should be verified, and the proof of local authority consent for the removal of this chimney breast provided." The current owners (who purchased the property in 2001) are not aware of any building consent being obtained, and the local authority have confirmed that they have no consent on record. The owners are saying that it wasn't raised as an issue when they purchased the property, that any structural defects would have appeared by now, that the local authority enforcement period has passed, and so we 'simply have to accept the position'. I have asked them to seek retrospective consent from the Council or to get a builder round to check the support arrangements, but they have so far refused.

What would your advice be in this situation? Would any structural defects have appeared by now? Is it safe to ignore this issue? Whilst clearly no defects have appeared in 13 years, part of my concern is that I assume we would not be insured were anything to happen in the future, given consent has not been obtained? Also, the chimney breast is on a party wall, so I assume there should have been some agreement with the neighbour.

I have had a 6" flue liner installed for a log burning stove. I understand that some liners have arrows on them to show which way up they should be fitted - This liner doesn't have the arrows, but looking on line, it has been installed the internal gills opening upwards rather than down - does this matter?
Thanks for answers.

My new house has a Baxi Gas Fire with back boiler and water tank circa 1970?? and the ignition is working intermittently, sometimes 5 or more times before igniting and resulting in a blowback flame when it does eventually ignite. Has anyone had similar experiences with these ignitors on this type of fire and how can this sort of problem be fixed.

Our plan is to remove an existing 4 pot chimney down to the bedroom roof joists. Only one chimney is still in use for a multifuel burner, one was sealed many years ago while the other two have vents into the bedrooms where fireplaces used to exist. A contracter has advised us to have the two unused bedroom chimneys piped together via an inverted "Y" type connection and then piped out through the roof. Is this necessary or can they been sealed off at joist height?
If so do we cap them completely or use vents to let them breath?

I live in a 3 storey terraced house and my neighbors removed their chimney breasts on the ground floor. In addition they removed a main wall on the ground floor so that they could have a large room which they now use as their kitchen/lounge. I have always had fires in my house and I believe there is no substitute for a natural fire. After they had done their work they complained they could smell smoke in their children's bedroom which is located on the second floor. I should state the fire I had was on the 1st floor in my lounge. I should also point out that they have built a loft conversion and hence now have 4 floors.They say its my problem and that I should get work done. Whilst I am prepared to stop having fires for a while I consider it is their problem. They have not had chimney breasts above ground floor removed. In addition I confirm that they did enter into party wall agreements and it is my understanding that they have had building regulation approval.