Removing a Chimney Breast Wall
What is meant by the term “Chimney Breast Wall”?
In order to provide room for the fireplace, the wall that comprises the chimney breast protrudes outward and encloses the chimney. In a home or structure, the chimney breast wall is located on the ground level, and the masonry that extends upward and housing the flue is part of the chimney breast wall. At some point, the smoke from the current fire will work its way up up the flue and out the chimney stack into the surrounding air.
The interiors of chimney breasts are typically built of brickwork or concrete, however some homes have fake chimney breasts that are made of less durable materials like plaster board or plaster skim. Brickwork and concrete are the two most common materials used for chimney breast interiors. The building of a false chimney breast wall is purely aesthetic; it serves the function of disguising a flue with a thin wall, or it may exist just for the sake of design and not to house a flue at all.
Why Do You Need to Take Down the Chimney Breast Wall?
The issue that arises for homeowners who have chimney breasts is the fact that these walls take up valuable living space. Sometimes in older houses, living space is a commodity that cannot be compromised, especially in awkwardly constructed rooms that don’t quite measure up to our current standards of useable space. In these cases, the only option is to find creative ways to maximize the amount of space available. Due to the cumbersome nature of a chimney breast wall, its removal has emerged as one of the most popular choices for a demolition project in recent years.
The redundancy of these components is eliminated upon removal of the chimney breast wall. Since the wall performs the same functions as a chimney, eliminating it will save space in the room where the fireplace is located while allowing the chimney flue to continue to function normally and having the same effects. There is also the possibility that homeowners like the function of central heating, which is a simpler, cleaner, and, one could argue, more contemporary manner of heating a home.
Be Cautious Before Beginning the Demolition
The removal of a chimney breast wall is considered a nasty operation by construction professionals. You should expect debris and dust to fly everywhere, so if this job is on your next house improvement work list, you should clear the room that the chimney breast is placed in and seal it off completely. In such case, the furniture, area rugs, carpet, and surfaces can all be expected to have a layer of dust on them. In order to be ready, purchase some plastic sheets to cover open entrances and some tarps to spread over the flooring in order to protect the space in which you will be working. While you’re working, make sure to keep the windows open to let in as much fresh air as possible.
Better to be safe than sorry. Let the experts handle your chimney troubles like Chimney Cleaning Lafayette and repairing. Call Local Chimney Sweep Cleaning today.