Removing a chimney breast

[Eminybob]

Has anyone done this? We have a bloody great big one taking up a massive space in the living room and we never ever light the fire.

Can a chimney breast be removed, would I need any sort of planning permission, building regs and what sort of cost would I be looking at?

Thank you

[northerngoldilocks]

Short answer is yes. Getting a structural engineer would be best as unless you are taking out the whole stack above you would need to support it adequately. Also need party wall consent if relevant. It's not a quick DIY job but if a remodel of a house has left a chimney breast in an awkward position it can make a huge difference

[RomComPhooey]

As noted above, they are nearly always load bearing so it requires proper professional input - its not a DIY bish bash bosh job.

[RockySpeed]

We took away a wall that had a chimney breast in it, it was load bearing so we needed RSJs and the chimney taking out all the way up to the roof. It was EXTREMELY messy but in glad we did it as DS's bedroom is so much bigger without the chimney

[Eminybob]

Thank you. Yeah I bought it would be a big job. It's right in the middle of the house so no party wall issue.

Any idea how much it might cost roughly?

[Eminybob]

*thought