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Posted by ANDREW CONWAY, on
Can I remove / shorten and seal off a shared chimney stack with a next door neighbour with their permission? And what sort of money are we talking about?

Philip Rouse

you can not remove half of a shared chimney stack because the brick work is all tied in together and removeal of your half of the stack will cause it to become unstable.
(21) Was this helpful?

Paul Linkman

Hi Andrew , Funny you should be asking me this the same week I have done my own and my neighbours,so yes with the permission of your neighbour it can be done.Planning consent should be sought if the building is listed or it's exterior is in a conservation area so please check.Costwise I usually price one day for two men ,scaffolding ,skip,and materials so if you budget £450 to £650 in most cases that would cover it.I hope This helps and if I can be of further assistance please contact me. Regards Paul Linkman
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crimea jones

crimea jones

Building Regulations require that buildings remain structurally stable after alterations have been carried out on them. In most instances the removal of part of a chimney stack will require Building Regulation approval and work will need to be done to ensure the remaining part of the stack is properly supported.
(10) Was this helpful?

Andy Thornton

Hi yes I would think so you may need to have a party wall agreement which is can be as simple as a written agreement between both parties. Yes would only be required if the works carried out affect your neighbour's in any way. Regards Andy Thornton
(7) Was this helpful?

Mark Hall

HELLO, YOU CAN ONLY SEAL OFF YOUR SHARED CHIMNEY, YOU CANNOT SHORTEN IT WOULD LOOSE ITS STRUCTURAL STRENGTH & YOUR NEIGHBOUR WOULD NOT LIKE THAT & IF YOU SEAL ANY POT IT HAS TO BE VENTED WITH A COWL.
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John Kevin Atree

hi Andrew written consent from the neighbour is required, a steel support (gallow brackets) would be required along with removal of bricks and plaster very hard to talk figures without surveying
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Mark Newman

Mark Newman

Hello Andrew .are we talking about removing the stack from inside the loft Or complete removal outside of our part ?? If its inside than you take out the brickwork and fit nesercery supports To hold the rest of the stack(gallow brackets) Not a major job Outside depends how big and access to the stack for scaffolding but all can be done Hope this helps cheers mark Newman
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Ivan Locke

yes but you need to make sure where it splits, it should be in the attic. after you know this you must brick your neighbour side back up in double skin ( 9' thick ) just to make sure all is ok do a smoke test to check there is no leeks. Cost depends on excess if you require scaffold it will bump the price up, with out scaffold about £1500.
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Darren Munro

Darren Munro

Hello Andrew A chimney these days is regarded as a liability; unless it is in use. Reducing or removing a chimney is common. Something we do regularly. Cost: access is a large factor. I would need to see the chimney and the building before I could provide you with a price. Or I would be guessing! Darren
(4) Was this helpful?
jim rutherford

jim rutherford

yes you can remove it as long as two parties agree.price will depend on how high the chimney is and how much scaffold if any is required,as this usually the most expensive part of the job,could be anything from a thousand to three thousand
(4) Was this helpful?
Paul Nunn

Paul Nunn

Yes you can, providing you and the neighbour want the chimney reduced and are in total agreement. The Party Wall Act will give you more in depth information. I would not recommend sealing off as this causes condensation within the chimney stack. Ventilate at the top with cowls to prevent the ingress of water. Price for this work would depend upon the size of the chimney and the extent of scaffold to be used. For a 3 bed semi at about 7 meters high I would estimate at approximately £1200. Regards Paul Nunn
(3) Was this helpful?
Paul Collins

Paul Collins

Yes, it can be done. As long as both owners are in agreement & neither are using the chimney for any form of heating. Unfortunately, until the job can be seen by a professional, it would be hard to estimate. You've not given size of chimney proximity on the roof & access to it. These factors would have to be taken into account.
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Bryn Pritchard

yes there is no problem with taking chimney down or sealing it as long as next door is happy with it, would need a roofer in to slate/tile over where the chimney would be. But in my view would be a better idea to just seal the chimney in case near future you or your neighbor would need it i years to come. Cost wise without having a look and a chat with you would't like to price as there are so many factors E.G hight and diamiter of chimney / hight of house 2/3 stories high, scaffolding. please feel free to call and will talk and now what you need doing thanks Bryn
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Tim Arnold

Tim Arnold

Hi Andrew, yes there is no problem with that providing you neighbours agree and the chimneys are not being used for any type of heating flues. With regards to costs this really depends on how large the stacks are, how much is to be removed etc also worth bearing in mind suitable scaffold requirement costs. Regards Tim/T A Roofing Services
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Louis De Courcey

Louis De Courcey

Hi . Yes you can take it down with their permission . Need measurements of how much to take down and how good the access to the chimney is , before i could estimate . Hope that helps a little bit.
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gavin royle

gavin royle

Dear Andrew In answer to your question Yes, this is possible, Is there a reason for wanting to remove the stack? There are various things that you will have to take into consideration things like building regs, Damp prevention, effect on your neighbors chimney and maintenance, Ventilation to rooms without chimney, will it. have and effect on weight bearing walls? is it just the stack externally you would like to shorten or remove? Prices are completely dependent on these questions, Shortening a stack can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds, if you can give more info maybe able be a bit more detailed Kind Regards Gav
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Shaun Purdie

Shaun Purdie

Simple answer is yes you can ,but it's not a good idea to block of chimneys totally it's always good to allow air flow to stop damp problems , as for cost that's all dependent on access to the chimney. Thanks Shaun
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BARRY MOORES

Hi Andrew You would need permission from your neighbour to take down and shorten chimney stack, but if you wish to cap off you side of the chimney you can do with out there permission, its possible you would require scaffolding to do this type of work. Regards Barry
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Fraser Flower

Fraser Flower

Evening Andrew, Assuming the stack was built with chimney(s) serving both properties, and both "new" stacks are similar finished height, the answer is yes. But beware if your property is listed or similar. And any shortening of stack my affect how open fires draw. Cost.....dependant on access to stack, size and materials it's made of under £1000.00.
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ross clark

Yes you can shorten it then slab over it the either felt or put lead over it, Or you could take it below roof height and tile/slate over.
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Donald Gray

Yes you can. If you are both working in tandem in a joint venture and the work refers to you and your neighbors chimneys. Cost is something you can't guess at. There is scaffolding, the size of the property and the size of chimney. W hope this answers some of questions. Donald. If you think I can. Help further just ask
(2) Was this helpful?

Marcus Johnstone

Yes you can shorten depending on the chimney and you would have to have a builder or a roofer to take a look at it to give a correct quote and explain to you're neighbour what was going on, and also if it is gas ventilated you would need a plumber or gas engineer to ensure it is safe place to work, many thanks Marcus from Classic Roofing and Building.
(2) Was this helpful?

Keith Pugh

Yes you can if the chimney is in no use at all make sure the next door haven't got any gas fires if they haven't go ahead but try to put some sort of vent bricks in to vent the chimney if you cap it of good look thanks
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Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker

Hello Andrew, Yes you can, just make sure to run some tests first so as you don't seal of your neighbours chimney cost £150 Regards Michael
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Phil Oxlade

Phil Oxlade

Hi Andrew, If you have a written agreement with your neighbour you can easily get the chimney sealed. I wouldn't advise removing the stack though because at some point you might decide to put in a woodburner in which case you'd need a chimney. Without seeing the job I would be unable to price it . I would check if your house is listed or in a conservation area before doing anything! Phil Roofcraft
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dylan boulton

Hi Andrew with the neighbours permission you should be ok you can remove it if neither yours or your neighbours chimneys are no longer in use you would probs be looking at 2 to 300 pounds to remove it snd tile over if you would like any further info please contact me cheers . Dylan
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David Clark

Hi Andrew Yes you can reduce the height of a shared chimney stack and cap it off, but it will need to have some ventilation in order to avoid condensation. You should obtain written permission from the neighbour, and if it is a listed building, you will need listed building consent. Normally it would require scaffolding. It is difficult to estimate the cost without knowing how accessible it is and the height of it, but I would suggest in the region of £450 - £900. Best Regards David
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Tom Fahy

Tom Fahy

Good evening Andrew, It is fine to cap off your half of the chimney however you will not be able to reduce the height on one half as it will effect the structural entegritie of the joining chimney coursing it to bow or possibly collaps. If you want to remove the chimney below the roof line you will need a structural calculation and install a steel beam from the spine wall to the external wall to carry the load in the loft and above allowing the rest of the redundant chimney breast to be removed, If you need any further information just ask and I can source the information for you. It mite be an idea to consult a building control officer. Kind regards Bespoke contractors LTD
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Damir Sehic

Damir Sehic

It can be done, but it needs to be done professionally with a full insured and experienced builder who knows what he is doing. The cost depends on what is actually involved in doing the job properly and safely, for both yourself and the neighbors side.
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Scott Wood

Scott Wood

Hi Andrew Sealing off the chimney would be quite simple since it would require the minimum of scaffold and could be done in a day.(About £220) Removing /Shortening the chimney however would require a full scaffold (about £350) a small skip(£80) and a two men one day (about £200) Total about £630
(1) Was this helpful?
scott ryan

scott ryan

Chimneys can be removed providing that they're no longer used for venting gas fires and or coal or multifuel fires but be careful because a lot of people are going back to wanting chimneys or multifuel burners installing in regards to money difficult to give a guide because of size of chimney access to chimney type of roof tiles etc post ur job on here and get someone to inspect it Regards Scott
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gregory mckenzie

gregory mckenzie

hi andrew you can cap/seal your half of the chimney and yes you can shorten it to both sides if you wanted to remove it you would have to remove the whole chimney both sides and retile the hole that would be left.price would depend on the width and height of the stack and would have to be done with scaffolding erected.
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Michal Banas

Hi Andrew, Just to add to previous responses - it is always good to have survey done before you will be thinking about price for this job. Reason is simple - depending on quality of brickwork it can be very simple project but it can turn out to be a little nightmare.
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