What’s Supporting This Troublesome Chimney?

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Roger helps Jeff figure out the best approach to making his chimney safe.

Jeff’s message:

What, if anything, do I need to do about this?

Doing up what was the in-law’s house to sell it. The chimney breast was removed from the ground-floor kitchen and 1st-floor bedroom around 50+ yrs ago. My wife and older sister lived there from birth, and neither can remember the original airing cupboard being there.

So, I need to do ‘something’ cos the pointing is shot, and light is getting in halfway up the exposed stack above the roofline, not to mention rain when it’s windy. Hence the damage to the plasterboard.

Do I point the brickwork, cap the pot and re-board the ceiling?

Can I lay a 3m 2”x6” across the larger joists and frame fixings into the breast brickwork, then remove the lower course or two so nothing is just ‘hanging there’?

Or are the options 1) metalwork to support or 2) take it all down and make good the roof?

About Dylan Garton

Dylan Garton is a co-founder, video producer and editor for the Skill Builder social media platforms.

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