Adsibob Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 My dad is removing a chimney breast which is load bearing from an end of terrace Victorian property in Cardiff. He needs a structural engineer. How would you go about finding a someone reliable, but not too expensive? All the ones that are coming up on his google searches are big companies who don't really do small residential jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonner Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 You would be better off finding a reputable builder who has experience of similar jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Bonner said: You would be better off finding a reputable builder who has experience of similar jobs. Is this the sort of work that can be done under a building notice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 It involves a site visit and a formal proposal to the building inspector. This could be by an SE or any other professional who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge. A builder may suffice. Whether building notice suffices is probably irrelevant, as it is a 2 day job to fit the bracket and the bco will want to see proposals before allowing it to proceed. I did the proposal myself (got the letters) , and fitted the gallows bracket, then got a bricky (of sorts) in to make good. But our chimney breast was already illegally removed so the works was less. The bco only looked at it as finished, and didn't get more than his head though the loft hatch. Some people say don't use gallows bracket, but it seems ok to me for most circumstances. Your bco has probably seen this work a dozen times. Do they speak to you in your area? Personally, I don't approve of chimneys being removed as they provide a lot of strength and help the building to breathe. But that is up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 16 hours ago, saveasteading said: It involves a site visit and a formal proposal to the building inspector. This could be by an SE or any other professional who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge. A builder may suffice. Whether building notice suffices is probably irrelevant, as it is a 2 day job to fit the bracket and the bco will want to see proposals before allowing it to proceed. I did the proposal myself (got the letters) , and fitted the gallows bracket, then got a bricky (of sorts) in to make good. But our chimney breast was already illegally removed so the works was less. The bco only looked at it as finished, and didn't get more than his head though the loft hatch. Some people say don't use gallows bracket, but it seems ok to me for most circumstances. Your bco has probably seen this work a dozen times. Do they speak to you in your area? Personally, I don't approve of chimneys being removed as they provide a lot of strength and help the building to breathe. But that is up to you. This doesn’t really address my initial question. Grateful if we could stay on topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 17 hours ago, SteamyTea said: Is this the sort of work that can be done under a building notice? Not relevant that I can see to my original question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 24 minutes ago, Adsibob said: Not relevant that I can see to my original question. Here is a register that showed a few. https://www.istructe.org/find-an-engineer/members-directory/ I just set the location to Cardiff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Adsibob said: Grateful if we could stay on topic. Sorry. I have re-read and it seemed to me to be entirely on topic. I wll duck out of this discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 5 minutes ago, saveasteading said: Sorry. I have re-read and it seemed to me to be entirely on topic. I wll duck out of this discussion. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be prickly. The point I was making is that we are too far down the road with existing builder, we just want a second opinion on something from an SE. Anyway, found one more through a website called bark.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 23 minutes ago, Adsibob said: found one more through a website called bark.com Will it be worse than the bite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 59 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: Will it be worse than the bite? Yes, it’s an odd choice of name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 3 minutes ago, Adsibob said: Yes, it’s an odd choice of name. Not for a dog kennels or tree surgeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Adsibob said: , I didn’t mean to be prickly OK. Understood. So often in the bh questions the whole scenario isn't clear, and perhaps we imagine what the real problem is. Keep us posted on the proposals please, and I will turn "follow" on again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted April 14, 2023 Author Share Posted April 14, 2023 So the latest is that the builder appears to have been right, in that he wanted to proceed without any SE involvement. SE has now been given a description of situation and subject to survey he thinks builder is probably right. My dad wants a certificate from the SE to confirm this so survey going ahead this weekend. He wants this for his own orange of mind, but also because he plans to sell in the future. Turns out the chimney stack and breast above has been removed by previous owners, so removing the remaining breast at ground level is fine and won’t have any structural impact (subject to survey). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blooda Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 Try yellow pages [yell.com] Look for "home type addresses", this will usually let you know that they are a one man/woman/other band. With SE's you can then check they are real by using their registered body. Quick search [not by any means recommended by me]:- Just Beams, Newport | Structural Engineers - Yell ring up and get a name and check here Members Directory - The Institution of Structural Engineers (istructe.org) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted April 14, 2023 Share Posted April 14, 2023 6 minutes ago, Adsibob said: My dad wants a certificate from the SE to confirm Good idea, I am having trouble selling a house because the buyers surveyor has made several assumptions (that are wrong) and scaring the buyer 😱. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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