Removal of Cast Iron Chimney Flue & Fitted Fireplace From inside a BISF House.  

Hi Danny,
No, you don't have to remove the Cast iron flue if you want to install a wood burner in your home.
I know of several residents who have done so simply by installing an expandable flue liner inside the existing flue for added safety and to prevent any fumes from escaping from the flue joints which may or may not be present through movement.

I hope this answers your question.

Marc

Here is what it looks like now I have taken out the flue, fireplace and wall behind it.

I removed the double doorway lining and the wall below the picture rail and lined the opening with some timber usually used for floorboards. The stanchion I left exposed, filled the holes and painted it black as an ironwork feature, and built a ceiling feature with some LED downlighters to cover the hole in the ceiling where the flue was.

I tiled the hole left by the fireplace and filled the gap in the parquet left by the wall with a strip of wood.

Hi all, sorry for the long absence but here are some photos of the finished project.

Downstairs after taking out the flue and fireplace I carefully cut out the wall behind below the picture rail leaving the steel stanchion exposed. I lined the opening with 21 x 147 mm timber (usually used for floorboards) to match the window linings in style. The steel stanchion I left exposed as it's quite small and thought boxing it in would make it unnecessarily large. I filled the holes in it and painted it black as an ironwork feature.

Lastly I made a ceiling canopy/feature with LED downlighters to cover the hole in the ceiling left by the flue.

I'm really pleased by the new layout. I think the front room works a lot better without the fireplace as the sofa can go against the hallway wall.

Hi Ed, I'm sorry to see that your images appear to either not uploaded or gone astray for some reason.

I've searched the entire Media Library behind the scenes but to no avail.

Would you be able to upload them again if you still have them please?

Best regards

Marc

It looks like these images are missing too, I sit and scratch my worn head.

Hi Doug 

i live in a BISF house and I’m assuming this is what my chimney breast looks like underneath the brick/concrete. My plan is to remove the chimney breast in my living room only. Do I have to remove the whole flue or can I just get supporting steel beams? If I do have to remove the whole flue can this be done without opening up the wall in my bedroom? 

Hello Vicky, 

Sadly I haven't seen @Doug online for a while but I do hope he pops back in and responds to your reply.

Looking at your photograph, it does appear that you have a B.I.S.F type B floor layout which is a little different to the type A floor plan.

Most notably, the A1 type B Floor Layout have a traditional style brick encased flue that is usually located on the party wall between the two properties and a visible short brick chimney stack protruding from the roof.

The Type A1 A layout doesn't have a brick chimney breast but rather a cast iron flue which is boxed in with a timber frame, leading down to a fireplace and hearth, usually located on the dividing wall between the front and rear of the house. This was the type shown in Dougs flue removal post.

The type A1 A layouts usually have a kitchen and separate dining room to the rear of the house, whereas a type B, may have a kitchen and bathroom here instead, although even this may vary between properties.

Having only worked on the A floor plan layout properties myself, I'm not 100% sure of the internal structure of your chimney or even if it has a cast iron internal pipe at all.  I had always assumed that those properties with traditional brick chimney breasts did not require a cast iron flue. (But that is only an assumption).

It would be great if we could her from anyone with a type B floor layout and traditional chimney breast as they may be able to provide an answer for us both.

Marc