Chimney Removal
Why do plumbers remove chimneys? Many chimneys have gas fires or wood burners installed in them and we run metal flues in their place after removal. We also match up the roofing when the chimney is gone. Plumbers are very used to roofing work and working at heights safely. In addition we are licenced to ensure a quality job and can recommend any alternative heating once the chimney is gone.
Leaving a brick chimney in place is very dangerous and unnecessary. We can remove chimneys and flash the roof. The job of chimney removal is not difficult. The bricks are removed from site and some can be recycled after the mortar is removed.
There are some chimneys that contain gas flues or wood burner flues. We fit a couple of sheets of iron to flash the roof and refit the gas flues. Because we are gasfitters we have all the skills in house. We can source tiles in most cases for the hole as well.
The recent earthquakes in Christchurch have reminded us all about the dangers of leaving brick chimneys in place.
There was a photo in the Dominion of a chimney in Christchurch that slide down the roof, over the side of the house and straight through their car in the driveway. Just as well the family were not in it at the time. Some chimneys fell straight through the roof and all the way to ground taking out ceilings and floors all the way, not to mention any furniture that got in the way. You see chimneys are really heavy and once they get going there is no stopping them.
Chimney Removal Process
Some chimneys require a scaffold be erected next to the chimney to remove them as the roof is too steep to stand on and the chimney too high to get to the top of them.
The chimney is removed from the top brick by brick. We can take the chimney down to just below the roof or further down to ceiling height, mantel height or right down to below the floor.
Removing the chimney to below the floor enables the recovery of floor space. We can remove the cladding around chimneys in rooms and install new cladding over the exposed rear walls, arrange plastering and painting, new skirting and scotia. Flooring will need patching and matching as best can with surrounding areas.
If there is any gas flue associated with the fire place this can be reinstated. Some houses are in historic areas and need a Resource consent. The chimney can be removed a mock chimney put in place not necessarily identical but similar and perhaps shorter if required. Most can just come down. Buildings with out a chimney are often warmer too.
The Wcc has a list of heritage listed buildings. If your not herigate listed you probably dont need any consent.
