DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

My daughter has a chimney breast in her kitchen and I assume a covered fireplace. This is as a result of two rooms being knocked into one sometime in the past by a previous owner. The bedroom above also has a covered fireplace with an air brick. And the chimney is capped by a slab. This is all on an outside non shared wall. I wanted to re open the fireplace and make the opening higher in order to house a cooker and extractor.
What do I need to do, and do I need planning permission?

Thanks

You do not need planning permission,you can remove the inner guts of the fireplace yourself,A messy job so wear a mask,gloves etc.
Raising the height will require a new concrete lintol,I would call in a builder to do it for you,As the chimney breast is external the extractor can be vented directly outside rather than up the chimney.

As recommended, I would seek the advice of a builder and one who has been in the trade for some time as if you are referring to the slab being at the top of the fireplace and within the chimney breast, this would have been cast on site into the internal brickwork and would contain the clay flu pipe.

Do you have any photo's you could share?[/url]

I have now had this work completed by a local builder. I'm glad I didn't attempt it myself. My next question is, I originally thought the chimney had been capped because there is no chimney pot. But now, looking up it is obvious that it is still open. I will be siting a gas cooker in the newly created alcove and am wondering if I should get some type of cover on the top of the chimney stack. Also, will it be ok for heat/steam/smells to go straight up the chimney?

if you are going to vent the extracted heat up the flue you will need to leave it open.
I personally would cap the flue and install a vent and pipe it through the brest .