Self Build - Crooked Chimney

B

Birroc

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We want to move a chimney stack from the middle of an upstairs room to the corner of the room - this will mean have a crooked stack/flue - is this a problem ? anything we should watch out for ?
 
how far from the corner is it? can be done over a short distance but would obviously need to be sructurally sound underneath
 
Do you mean chimney breast?
As stated by csmd any movement of the breast would definitely need to be structurally sound in it's new position. If you are moving it, then the chimney stack ( the part you can see above the roof) would also need to be supported correctly, unless you were to remove the stack totally.

If you are suggesting that you move the breast over to the corner and then bring the flue back over, within the roof space, to link up again with the existing stack then I suggest you think again and get a structural engineer to have a look.

I really can't see how it could be done in a safe, structurally sound, manner without a lot of money being thrown at it; and probably not even then!
 
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Yes I mean a chimney breast. We were only planning to build it on the upstairs portion of the house about 2/3 feet off the bottom floor position.
 
I'm still struggling to picture what you mean.

My understanding of your last post is that:

1. In an upstairs room you want to build a fireplace and chimney breast.

2. This fireplace/breast starts about 2/3 feet above the level of the floor.

3. You then want to slope the breast at an angle to meet a central (?) chimney
stack.

If my understanding is correct, then you would need to provide some form of support. probably via a structural steel frame to support the fireplace/breast. The breast would then need to be corbelled over at something like 35 degrees (or whatever angle is required to meet the stack). The breast would need to be tied in to existing brickwork on every course. The flue would need to be lined as I suppose that the old style pargetting of my day is no longer a possibility. (Pargetting is the plastering of the inside of the flue with a lime mortar mix.)

I would think that you would need to box in the breast to disguise all of the corbelling and the general mess that would result from doing this job.

In short, always assuming that my assumption is correct, you really should forget the proposal as it will cause you a world of problems in trying to build the breast and getting it passed by building control.
 

No, I think I explained it badly. Let me try again...
We are going to build a 2 story house. There is a fireplace and chimney breast on the ground floor. The chimney breast continues up into a bedroom on the 1st floor. Note: There is no fireplace in the 1st floor bedroom.
The problem is that the chimney breast is in the middle of a wall in the bedroom upstairs and we want to move it to enter the bedroom at the corner of the room. Thus a 'crooked' chimney breast. Maybe this 'graphic' will help....

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Thanks Birroc, I think I now understand.

1. what is the horizontal distance that the breast needs to move?

2. Over what vertical distance does this horizontal move take place?

What I am trying to establish is whether what you are trying to achieve is possible without looking like a dog's breakfast.

The slope of the flue really can't be less than 45 degrees to give smoke a reasonable chance of evacuating properly. This same angle is also the fastest slope you can safely get with the brickwork of the breast.

A possible alternative is to cast the flue/breast in concrete, box it in and plaster it.
Another alternative, if you are not already past this stage, is to build the downstairs fireplace across the corner of the room. (obviously if the fireplace is already built the option may not be viable)
 

Nothing built yet. Starting foundation next week.
The horizontal different is around 4 feet but it could be a little more.
I might not build a fireplace/chimney at all at this rate.
 
you have a few options

1. build a wider chimney breast on the ground floor to allow for the chimney over
2. incorporate a twin walled steel flue and box in above
3. as stated above corbel out the block work..not for the faint hearted or inexperienced.
 
Birroc,
Didn't appreciate that nothing is built yet.

That being the case, your chimney chimney breast does not have to be inside your house - provided that your fireplace is on an outside wall.

In our house which is brickbuilt, we have an open fireplace in both the dining room and the sitting room. In both cases the front of the fire opening is flush with the wall and the flues are enclosed within external chimney breasts which then become chimney stacks when they get to the eaves. (Terminology may not be accurate as it's 40+ years since I last worked on a building site.)

Maybe something for you to think about, although I appreciate that time is very short.

Good Luck

BillK
 

Do external chimney breasts have to be specified on the house plans for planning permission purposes I wonder ? Our drawings show the chimney breast to be internal.

Thanks,
Birroc
 
Sorry mate,

I have lived in England since the 1940's so have no idea on planning Regs in Ireland.

I would not have thought, however, that there would be a problem. After all, unless you are building in the middle of a housing estate, you should have enough room for slight changes.

But, as I said, I am talking in total ignorance of the planning situation where you live.
 
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