The chimney stack or chimney pot is the part of the chimney you see on the roof of a house. The chimney breast is part running through the floors of the house and juts out of a wall for the fireplace. The chimney breast might be made of brick and will house a flue. When a fire would be lit inside the fireplace, the smoke would travel up the flue and out through the chimney stack.

Can I remove my chimney breast?

Yes, if you no longer have a working chimney breast and prefer to make space in the room, an internal chimney breast can be removed from the ground and first floor. The chimney breast removal can be done by leaving the chimney stack in position on the roof, to keep the outside appearance of the house.

When removing the chimney breast, a builder might need to add support beams to support the masonry above as the chimney breast does form part of the structure of the house. The only time a builder might be concerned about removing a chimney breast is for a property predating the 1800s.

If your chimney breast is part of a shared wall, also known as a party wall, because in you live in a semi-detached or terraced house, then you will need to obtain your neighbours permission under the Party Wall Act. This must be a formal agreement, signed by both parties.

What feature can my chimney breast be turned into?

The internet is full of clever ideas to convert your chimney breast into a feature to suit almost any room and make full use of the space of the chimney breast.

Some of HaMuch teams favourite ideas include;

 Chimney breast in the kitchen, open a section of the chimney breast to insert your cooker and hob into the space to make that the feature of the kitchen.

For a hallway chimney breast, paint the breast as a feature wall and hang photos, making a welcoming entrance.

A lounge chimney breast, cut into the fireplace to use it as the setting for a wood burning stove that will transform the room into a cosy space.

A chimney breast in the bedroom could be wallpapered or again painted as a feature wall, and then with the bed in front of it makes a dramatic headboard. 

A chimney breast passing through the bathroom can make for a dramatic countertop basin space.

How much will it cost to remove my chimney breast?

A large cost of removing a chimney breast is the builders labour, and another big factor in the overall cost  is removing the building rubble. This might involve the cost of skip hire. After the chimney breast has been removed, flooring will need to be laid where the breast has now opened for more floor space. Walls will need to be smoothed, plastered and painted.

If the house is over multiple floors, the chimney breast will be featured on the different levels. If the builder is removing more than one floor of chimney breast, in one project, this will be a lot more cost effective than getting the builder to do only sections at a time, coming back to remove more chimney breast under a different project.

Cost to remove or fix a chimney breast

Per

Average total labour cost

Removing a chimney breast on ground floor

Per day

£450

Removing a chimney breast over two floors

Per day

£700

Removing an entire chimney breast and chimney stack

Per day

£900

Repairing a chimney breast and fireplace

Per day

£250

Converting a chimney breast into a feature wall

Per day

£300

Removing a chimney stack

Per day

£340

Can my chimney breast and fireplace be fixed for a working chimney?

If your chimney breast has big cracks or the brickwork is crumbling, a builder can fix the chimney breast restoring it to a good working condition. This may involve removing bricks and repointing along the chimney breast matching the mortar.

Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, it is best to have a Chimney & Fireplace specialist inspect the flue, the cowls on the chimney stack and sweep the chimney to ensure all the workings of the chimney is safe to operate.

Will removing a chimney breast devalue my home?

Chimney breasts are character features of older homes, giving the house a UK traditional feel. When it comes to selling your home, buyers who are attracted to your home over a newbuild contemporary home will seek out your home for its offers like a chimney breast. The complete removal of the chimney breast may leave them buying elsewhere, however the conversion of a chimney breast, e.g.; for a space to house their log burner or cooker will still give the house the traditional feel they crave with a modern use for the chimney breast and perhaps add more value to the house than the complete removal.

Of course, like so much, this is purely based on personal opinions, because another buyer might appreciate the additional space that the removal of the chimney breast has added in a room such as a bedroom. Be sure to keep records of Party Wall Agreements and any structural improvements as new buyers will want to see this documentation. Like with any project, before going ahead, do your research and see what similar homes in your neighbourhood have sold for, with and without chimney breasts to help you come to the best decision. Also, if this is your forever home, then a devalue would not matter as much.


Estimates for common builder jobs;

Job Estimate
Cost to fit windows, doors and conservatories £160
Cost to build a side return extension £61000
Cost to repoint or repair brickwork £405
Cost to remove a chimney breast £800
New fitted kitchen cost £19500
Cost to lay a new driveway £3400
Cost to fit a new bathroom £8000
Cost of a loft conversion £49900
Cost of home insurance £20.00 per month
Cost of contents insurance £12.00 per month
Cost of building insurance £10.00 per month
Cost to build a retaining wall £320
Basement conversion cost £43000

Rates for other trades

Remove chimney breast cost in the UK
Remove chimney breast cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKRemove chimney breast cost
Remove chimney breast near Aberdeen£600
Remove chimney breast near Amber Valley£508
Remove chimney breast near Angus£490
Remove chimney breast near Arun£534
Remove chimney breast near Ashfield£516
Remove chimney breast near Aylesbury Vale£530
Remove chimney breast near Barnsley£566
Remove chimney breast near Basildon£542
Remove chimney breast near Basingstoke & Deane£548
Remove chimney breast near Bassetlaw£512
Remove chimney breast near Bath & North East Somerset£538
Remove chimney breast near Bedford£584
Remove chimney breast near Belfast£364
Remove chimney breast near Birmingham£488
Remove chimney breast near Blackburn£486
Remove chimney breast near Blackpool£456
Remove chimney breast near Bolton£486
Remove chimney breast near Bournemouth£542
Remove chimney breast near Bracknell Forest£576
Remove chimney breast near Bradford£498
Remove chimney breast near Braintree£526
Remove chimney breast near Breckland£456
Remove chimney breast near Bridgend£462
Remove chimney breast near Brighton£530
Remove chimney breast near Bristol£536
Remove chimney breast near Broadland£442
Remove chimney breast near Broxtowe£508
Remove chimney breast near Bury£498
Remove chimney breast near Caerphilly£472
Remove chimney breast near Calderdale£476
Remove chimney breast near Cambridge£558
Remove chimney breast near Canterbury£478
Remove chimney breast near Cardiff£472
Remove chimney breast near Carmarthenshire£458
Remove chimney breast near Charnwood£462
Remove chimney breast near Chelmsford£534
Remove chimney breast near Cheltenham£540
Remove chimney breast near Cherwell£544
Remove chimney breast near Chester£478
Remove chimney breast near Colchester£516
Remove chimney breast near Conway£458
Remove chimney breast near Coventry£480
Remove chimney breast near Crewe & Nantwich£524
Remove chimney breast near Dacorum£564
Remove chimney breast near Derby£508
Remove chimney breast near Doncaster£510
Remove chimney breast near Dover£478
Remove chimney breast near Dudley£486
Remove chimney breast near Dumfries & Galloway£420
Remove chimney breast near Dundee£508
Remove chimney breast near East Ayrshire£476
Remove chimney breast near East Devon£428
Remove chimney breast near East Dunbartonshire£528
Remove chimney breast near East Hampshire£540
Remove chimney breast near East Hertfordshire£576
Remove chimney breast near East Lindsey£490
Remove chimney breast near East Riding£512
Remove chimney breast near Eastleigh£540
Remove chimney breast near Edinburgh£564
Remove chimney breast near Elmbridge£572
Remove chimney breast near Epping Forest£560
Remove chimney breast near Erewash£504
Remove chimney breast near Exeter£426
Remove chimney breast near Falkirk£502
Remove chimney breast near Fife£540
Remove chimney breast near Flintshire£486
Remove chimney breast near Gateshead£528
Remove chimney breast near Gedling£510
Remove chimney breast near Glasgow£572
Remove chimney breast near Gloucester£512
Remove chimney breast near Guildford£588
Remove chimney breast near Gwynedd£406
Remove chimney breast near Halton£474
Remove chimney breast near Harrogate£482
Remove chimney breast near Havant & Waterloo£530
Remove chimney breast near Highland£480
Remove chimney breast near Horsham£544
Remove chimney breast near Huntingdonshire£582
Remove chimney breast near Ipswich£486
Remove chimney breast near Isle of Wight£534
Remove chimney breast near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£462
Remove chimney breast near Kingston-upon-Hull£492
Remove chimney breast near Kirklees£504
Remove chimney breast near Knowsley£458
Remove chimney breast near Lancaster£488
Remove chimney breast near Leeds£494
Remove chimney breast near Leicester£450
Remove chimney breast near Lisburn£366
Remove chimney breast near Liverpool£464
Remove chimney breast near London£564
Remove chimney breast near Luton£552
Remove chimney breast near Macclesfield£504
Remove chimney breast near Maidstone£558
Remove chimney breast near Manchester£496
Remove chimney breast near Mid Bedfordshire£574
Remove chimney breast near Mid Sussex£530
Remove chimney breast near Middlesbrough£506
Remove chimney breast near Milton Keynes£562
Remove chimney breast near Neath Port Talbot£470
Remove chimney breast near New Forest£550
Remove chimney breast near Newbury£542
Remove chimney breast near Newcastle-under-Lyme£486
Remove chimney breast near Newcastle-upon-Tyne£532
Remove chimney breast near Newport£492
Remove chimney breast near North Ayrshire£516
Remove chimney breast near North East Lincolnshire£512
Remove chimney breast near North Hertfordshire£574
Remove chimney breast near North Lanarkshire£514
Remove chimney breast near North Lincolnshire£458
Remove chimney breast near North Somerset£536
Remove chimney breast near North Tyneside£542
Remove chimney breast near North Wiltshire£514
Remove chimney breast near Northampton£532
Remove chimney breast near Norwich£448
Remove chimney breast near Nottingham£512
Remove chimney breast near Nuneaton & Bedworth£482
Remove chimney breast near Oldham£502
Remove chimney breast near Oxford£554
Remove chimney breast near Pembrokeshire£380
Remove chimney breast near Perth & Kinross£524
Remove chimney breast near Peterborough£572
Remove chimney breast near Plymouth£508
Remove chimney breast near Poole£548
Remove chimney breast near Portsmouth£528
Remove chimney breast near Powys£480
Remove chimney breast near Preston£486
Remove chimney breast near Reading£574
Remove chimney breast near Redcar & Cleveland£512
Remove chimney breast near Reigate & Banstead£574
Remove chimney breast near Renfrewshire£592
Remove chimney breast near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£470
Remove chimney breast near Rochdale£496
Remove chimney breast near Rotherham£560
Remove chimney breast near Salford£492
Remove chimney breast near Salisbury£646
Remove chimney breast near Sandwell£484
Remove chimney breast near Scarborough£486
Remove chimney breast near Scottish Borders£604
Remove chimney breast near Sefton£468
Remove chimney breast near Sevenoaks£560
Remove chimney breast near Sheffield£574
Remove chimney breast near Slough£580
Remove chimney breast near Solihull£480
Remove chimney breast near South Ayrshire£486
Remove chimney breast near South Bedfordshire£584
Remove chimney breast near South Cambridgeshire£568
Remove chimney breast near South Gloucestershire£532
Remove chimney breast near South Kesteven£472
Remove chimney breast near South Lanarkshire£462
Remove chimney breast near South Oxfordshire£560
Remove chimney breast near South Somerset£598
Remove chimney breast near South Tyneside£536
Remove chimney breast near Southampton£538
Remove chimney breast near Southend-on-Sea£520
Remove chimney breast near St Albans£568
Remove chimney breast near St Helens£460
Remove chimney breast near Stafford£504
Remove chimney breast near Stockport£506
Remove chimney breast near Stockton-on-Tees£510
Remove chimney breast near Stoke-on-Trent£488
Remove chimney breast near Stratford-on-Avon£488
Remove chimney breast near Stroud£510
Remove chimney breast near Suffolk Coastal£468
Remove chimney breast near Sunderland£526
Remove chimney breast near Swale£514
Remove chimney breast near Swansea£498
Remove chimney breast near Tameside£506
Remove chimney breast near Teignbridge£474
Remove chimney breast near Tendring£498
Remove chimney breast near Test Valley£516
Remove chimney breast near Thamesdown£514
Remove chimney breast near Thanet£442
Remove chimney breast near The Wrekin£538
Remove chimney breast near Thurrock£548
Remove chimney breast near Torbay£508
Remove chimney breast near Trafford£502
Remove chimney breast near Vale of Glamorgan£486
Remove chimney breast near Vale of White Horse£540
Remove chimney breast near Vale Royal£494
Remove chimney breast near Wakefield£500
Remove chimney breast near Walsall£486
Remove chimney breast near Warrington£496
Remove chimney breast near Warwick£484
Remove chimney breast near Waveney£490
Remove chimney breast near Waverley£588
Remove chimney breast near Wealden£522
Remove chimney breast near West Lancashire£464
Remove chimney breast near West Lothian£548
Remove chimney breast near West Wiltshire£514
Remove chimney breast near Wigan£476
Remove chimney breast near Windsor & Maidenhead£580
Remove chimney breast near Wirral£466
Remove chimney breast near Wokingham£572
Remove chimney breast near Wolverhampton£486
Remove chimney breast near Wrexham Maelor£510
Remove chimney breast near Wychavon£492
Remove chimney breast near Wycombe£568
Remove chimney breast near York£472