ᐅ Removing a chimney / sealing a roof opening – costs and effort?
Created on: 2 Feb 2020 14:27
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PaulSchHello,
first of all: Since I couldn’t find a suitable subforum and this is a planning matter, I’m trying here in this forum.
Situation: We are currently renovating our two-story outbuilding, which was originally an old barn that was converted into a residential building during the DDR era. However, it hasn’t been used as such for about 20 years but has always been kept in reasonably good condition. For example, the roof was replaced about 10 years ago (new covering, vapor barrier, etc.).
When the roof was redone, the old chimney was left in place, even though it was no longer in use at that time. It used to be connected to a coal stove on the first floor—the chimney was only built up on the floorboards from the first floor upwards. During the renovation, we noticed that the upper part of the chimney, practically at the roof/chimney junction, is damp in the masonry.
We don’t know if this is because the chimney is not covered, the chimney/roof sealing might be damaged, or it’s simply due to the heavy rain in the past weeks, only that we don’t intend to use the chimney anymore anyway.
Problem: We would like to
1. Demolish the chimney and
2. Seal the resulting hole in the roof.
Questions:
1. Do we need any kind of permission for this? Building permit / planning permission?
2. Which works would probably have to be done for this? Rafters, vapor barrier, tiles? (I will handle the demolition of the chimney myself.) Expected costs = ?
3. Would you set up scaffolding for this? Or would a roofer be fine with just a wide ladder? The hole would be about 0.5 x 0.5 meters (1.5 x 1.5 feet) at a height of 5 meters (16.5 feet). Safety is definitely a priority; I’m just asking to avoid unnecessary hassle since it’s only about 0.25+ m² (2.7+ ft²) of roof covering.
first of all: Since I couldn’t find a suitable subforum and this is a planning matter, I’m trying here in this forum.
Situation: We are currently renovating our two-story outbuilding, which was originally an old barn that was converted into a residential building during the DDR era. However, it hasn’t been used as such for about 20 years but has always been kept in reasonably good condition. For example, the roof was replaced about 10 years ago (new covering, vapor barrier, etc.).
When the roof was redone, the old chimney was left in place, even though it was no longer in use at that time. It used to be connected to a coal stove on the first floor—the chimney was only built up on the floorboards from the first floor upwards. During the renovation, we noticed that the upper part of the chimney, practically at the roof/chimney junction, is damp in the masonry.
We don’t know if this is because the chimney is not covered, the chimney/roof sealing might be damaged, or it’s simply due to the heavy rain in the past weeks, only that we don’t intend to use the chimney anymore anyway.
Problem: We would like to
1. Demolish the chimney and
2. Seal the resulting hole in the roof.
Questions:
1. Do we need any kind of permission for this? Building permit / planning permission?
2. Which works would probably have to be done for this? Rafters, vapor barrier, tiles? (I will handle the demolition of the chimney myself.) Expected costs = ?
3. Would you set up scaffolding for this? Or would a roofer be fine with just a wide ladder? The hole would be about 0.5 x 0.5 meters (1.5 x 1.5 feet) at a height of 5 meters (16.5 feet). Safety is definitely a priority; I’m just asking to avoid unnecessary hassle since it’s only about 0.25+ m² (2.7+ ft²) of roof covering.
Vicky Pedia17 Feb 2020 23:23Hello PaulSch,
I am not familiar with the specific circumstances. You do not need a building permit or planning permission. The roofer will probably only need a ladder (I say this without knowing the local conditions) and can remove the exhaust vent. As a professional company, they can also quickly and properly seal the resulting "hole." The estimated time required is 2 people for 1 day.
I am not familiar with the specific circumstances. You do not need a building permit or planning permission. The roofer will probably only need a ladder (I say this without knowing the local conditions) and can remove the exhaust vent. As a professional company, they can also quickly and properly seal the resulting "hole." The estimated time required is 2 people for 1 day.
Thank you, that already helps me a lot. I will contact a local professional and have them provide a cost estimate based on this information. I was planning to remove the chimney from the inside anyway, so the top wouldn’t be much of an issue now. Then, the only thing left would be to close the opening...
For the transition, a tarp might be sufficient.
For the transition, a tarp might be sufficient.
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