Advice Following Work on Chimney

[SEP1664]

Hi All,

First time poster, looking for some advice; I'm a competent DIYer in a few areas but don't now much about chimneys!

My mother-in-law (in her mid-80s) lives in a semi-detached house, with a shared chimney. Now, I think the neighbour (not elderly, in her 30's) was having some leaks on her side, so she arranged for some workmen to carry out remediation.

Now, according to other neighbours and the mother-in-law, they were not the most professional bunch (running around on the roof, did some minor damage to the edging of the roof somehow), so she was concerned about what they'd done. She contacted a local builder who she knows and they went up on the roof to check for additional damage.

He took the attached photo of what they did and basically said that they had done was not correct and potentially dangerous (I think that they removed the pot(s) that were already there). Coincidentally, a couple of days later the gas supply company were in to fit a new smart meter and when he went to test the gas fire, the M-in-Law showed him the photo. He promptly slapped a warning notice on the gas fire as shown in the other attached photos saying that it should not be used.

TBH, I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve but the neighbour does not have a fire (I think it is blocked in). If they were going to block it off, would they not have done the whole thing, rather than left it exposed each side. But, I think it is obvious that they haven't considered the M-in-Law at all in this.

She has raised it with the neighbour but I don't think that the neighbour thinks that they have done anything wrong - I'm not sure that she has seen the warning notices plastered over the fire yet!

My wife and I think that the neighbour should sort it out (unfortunately, I don't think that the original workmen will be coming back any time soon) but we just need some advice about how things should look and some idea about what they were trying to accomplish, so that we can go back and put it to her.

As you can imagine, going into winter, the M-in-Law will be wanting to use her fire a fair bit!

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[catlad]

Struggling to find any words really to describe that! are they finished? if so the neighbour has been stung by idiots..

 

[23vc]

Did someone get very distracted half way through laying a patio?

 

[cdbe]

I almost think you should report that to the police! If that hadn't been noticed there could have been a fatality. Their intention was to block of most of the chimney flue to prevent water ingress while leaving a small open area to provide ventilation to the "disused" chimney. It needs removing and a terminal suitable for the gas fire installing and probably gas fire removing to check for fallen rubble and chimney pot fragments. If you get nowhere with the neighbour (having emphasised the seriousness of the situation) check house insurance policy for legal cover and see a solicitor. They shouldn't have even touched her side of the chimney.

 

[martygturner]

there are various type of rain cowels on the market ... see https://www.roofgiant.com/cowls-lea...49a2e663781a79#option:Solid+Fuel;colour:Black

However it looks like the pot has been cut flush with the cement cap, so unless you want a new pot you could fit an insert one with rain guard... see https://www.wtknowles.co.uk/chimneypots/flat-mushroom-push-in-hood/

 

[SEP1664]

Thanks all for your replies - glad that you are as perplexed as me regarding what they were trying to achieve or with how they have gone about it.

They have very much finished and probably done a runner from what I can gather.

Thanks for the suggestions martygturner / cdbe and others for comments - this gives me enough to go back to the neighbour and also know what to expect when we get a local builder to quote.

With regarding the work, would you usually expect a builder / roofer to do this sort of thing or would it require a GasSafe engineer?

​

​

 

[Nige F]

Did someone get very distracted half way through laying a patio?

you know the people who lay patios and do roof work...................