Firstly, sorry for the long winded post! (and the massive photos!) 
We have be considering getting a wood burning stove installed for a while and in a fit of excitement have removed the old gas fire to see what sort of space we have in the chimney breast. The house was built in the early 90’s.
Problem is that the existing opening is too narrow and too low, so I need to get it opened up, but aren’t really sure where to start.
This is what we had:
Pictures showing chimney from the outside:
Picture showing chimney from the inside (not sure if some work has already been done on the chimney opening at some point – just looks untidy and i can see pencil marks on the painted plaster where someone has drawn an opening…
Diagram showing dimensions of chimney opening (top down)
Diagram showing dimensions of chimney opening I would like to achieve (top down)
Picture show up the chimney up the chimney – are these clay liners diameter is 8 inches)
I think there’s a throat forming lintel (?) fitted above the opening I’ve created by removing the firebox (is this what its called?). Is it likely this is the only lintel or should I expect to find another, larger lintel higher up?
Secondly (and this is my biggest issue), are the internal cavity walls likely to be structural? My intention would be not knock them down and rebuild with only a 5cm cavity rather than the current 15cm to try and eek out 20cm of space. Does this seem realistic.? I can also see some form of DPM between the internal cavity blocks and the subfloor.
I suspect the chimney is clay pot lined, but what supports the lining?
Any help appreciated!
Cheers
Andrew
We have be considering getting a wood burning stove installed for a while and in a fit of excitement have removed the old gas fire to see what sort of space we have in the chimney breast. The house was built in the early 90’s.
Problem is that the existing opening is too narrow and too low, so I need to get it opened up, but aren’t really sure where to start.
This is what we had:
Pictures showing chimney from the outside:
Picture showing chimney from the inside (not sure if some work has already been done on the chimney opening at some point – just looks untidy and i can see pencil marks on the painted plaster where someone has drawn an opening…
Diagram showing dimensions of chimney opening (top down)
Diagram showing dimensions of chimney opening I would like to achieve (top down)
Picture show up the chimney up the chimney – are these clay liners diameter is 8 inches)
I think there’s a throat forming lintel (?) fitted above the opening I’ve created by removing the firebox (is this what its called?). Is it likely this is the only lintel or should I expect to find another, larger lintel higher up?
Secondly (and this is my biggest issue), are the internal cavity walls likely to be structural? My intention would be not knock them down and rebuild with only a 5cm cavity rather than the current 15cm to try and eek out 20cm of space. Does this seem realistic.? I can also see some form of DPM between the internal cavity blocks and the subfloor.
I suspect the chimney is clay pot lined, but what supports the lining?
Any help appreciated!
Cheers
Andrew
