hi,i would get someone who has experience in this type of work.i have done many of these,s on mybuilder and everyone sets you a challenge.you will need to contact the local council and get there advice on what notice you will need.The builder should have public liability insurance and look at is feedback on is profile to see if he has completed any chimney takedowns.some times you have to have a structual engineers report.bearing in mind when the stack comes down then you need to strenghen the roof and the floor inside will have to have floor joists because there be a void where the breast was .many thanks nick

I agree with what Nick said, and just to add that if you are planning on taking down the stack and ground floor, I would be inclined to take out the bedroom section, it will save a lot of propping and steel work.
So as said, contact BCO, and get a good builder out, as it really needs to be assessed before pricing, as there are to many equations to price from info supplied.
Basically starting from top, take down stack to below roof, replace roof timbers, felt/batten & tile/slate over, then proceed down to ground floor, you will have bedroom & lounge ceilings to make good, plus floors, joists and plastering to walls as you come down, dusty job and a few skips.

dusty is not the word, it would be cheaper to take the whole thing out as said your need steels, planning, enginner, wihich will give u 1foot x 4 foot in two rooms and your loft which is not really alot you will be gainning also like said its a mile cheaper to repoint fix flashing, id say if your gutting the house out of everything think about it, if only small works repair

In regards with the Nick's post, I have never removed a chimney breast without engineer's calculations. This is the first step (getting a structural engineer in) one should take with any structural work on their property. The reason is, some councils won't let you use standard gallows brackets and some will, although this is usually down to the condition of the brickwork, not mood of the building control inspector. Without the plans and calculations and council's approval , you won't get completion certificate from local building control, which will make it difficult when trying to sell the property, let alone the fact that you can ruin your property as well by doing it on "builders advice". You don't need a genius to carry out the work, just a good builder. Therefore, price shouldn't be sky high as lots of builders might present it. however, you would need someone looking at it properly.
Regards

hi if this was my own home i would check the brick work on the out side. to see if the mortar is in good condition, if there is any cracks in the brick work or missing mortar this can cause damp to work its way throw, also consider tanking the inside of the walls one metre high, this would be more cost effective if it is the problem. but seek a trusted builder first

thanks
jason @ Fletchers renovations