Hello!
I'm hoping for advice and help from you on this forum... We have bought a two-story house from the 1920s that was originally a two-family house with four tiled stoves and a wood stove. Unfortunately, only one tiled stove remains. The floor plan is tricky both because it was a two-family house and because the chimney stack runs through the entire house. For example, you have to go through the kitchen from the hallway to get into the living room.
I would like to open up the floor plan, but at the same time, of course, try to preserve the 1920s feel. Is it at all possible to manipulate the chimney stack? For example, make an opening in it and remove part of it? I realize that you need to do the same on both floors, and that the chimney stack is likely load-bearing considering the age of the house, and that it has significance for the house's ventilation and indoor climate. Is there a smart and gentle way to modernize and optimize the floor plan?
Thanks in advance!
I'm hoping for advice and help from you on this forum... We have bought a two-story house from the 1920s that was originally a two-family house with four tiled stoves and a wood stove. Unfortunately, only one tiled stove remains. The floor plan is tricky both because it was a two-family house and because the chimney stack runs through the entire house. For example, you have to go through the kitchen from the hallway to get into the living room.
I would like to open up the floor plan, but at the same time, of course, try to preserve the 1920s feel. Is it at all possible to manipulate the chimney stack? For example, make an opening in it and remove part of it? I realize that you need to do the same on both floors, and that the chimney stack is likely load-bearing considering the age of the house, and that it has significance for the house's ventilation and indoor climate. Is there a smart and gentle way to modernize and optimize the floor plan?
Thanks in advance!
Damn! How do you add pictures???
I don't have such a button, is my browser too old? I can press "insert image," but then you have to enter a URL, and I don't have one.
I would have liked to move the wc and break through the murstock there.
puff puff... and thank you in advance...
Interesting drawing of the murstock that you attached.
But the fact is, a murstock is not a load-bearing part of the house; on the contrary, it should be completely standalone from the foundation all the way up if it is approved for use as a chimney for a fireplace. You'll probably have to make a decision to either tear it down completely or not at all, I think.
But the fact is, a murstock is not a load-bearing part of the house; on the contrary, it should be completely standalone from the foundation all the way up if it is approved for use as a chimney for a fireplace. You'll probably have to make a decision to either tear it down completely or not at all, I think.
Isn't it structural even in such an old house? Is it possible to install some kind of pipe to the stove and a cosmetic chimney on the roof if you remove the original chimney stack?
would not touch the chimney - a lot of work and money for little benefit.
"Office" can be transformed into a nicer, larger, furnished entrance with wardrobes, bookshelves, etc., with an opening towards the living room. You don't have to go through the kitchen to the living room without tearing down the chimney
gaia
"Office" can be transformed into a nicer, larger, furnished entrance with wardrobes, bookshelves, etc., with an opening towards the living room. You don't have to go through the kitchen to the living room without tearing down the chimney
gaia
That is not a chimney breast, it is a hearth wall with one or more integrated chimney flues. And it is indeed load-bearing if it's a 1920s house. The floor joists on the second floor are probably attached to the outer wall and then embedded in the hearth wall. Just where there are chimney flues, it's usually reinforced so no wood comes too close to a flue.
My 1920s house is built exactly the same way, but with a few doorways through the hearth wall, both in the basement, the ground floor, and the upper floor. In all cases, it is reinforced with beams over the doorways that lie in the direction of the hearth wall. On the ground and upper floors, there are wooden beams. In the basement, they have used something more substantial - there are railway rails embedded in the wall above the doorways!
If you plan to make a hole in the wall, there are a few things to consider. First and foremost, ensure there are no flues right where you make the hole. It's not just fire flues in such a wall but probably also ventilation flues for natural ventilation. They can, to put it mildly, go in various directions, including several branches. Then the wall on the sides of your intended doorway must withstand supporting the beam you reinforce with over the doorway - no flues too close to the door either. If you can just fulfill this, I see no problem making a hole - there are houses built this way that have holes in the hearth wall "originally." But I won't suggest execution and dimensioning.
My 1920s house is built exactly the same way, but with a few doorways through the hearth wall, both in the basement, the ground floor, and the upper floor. In all cases, it is reinforced with beams over the doorways that lie in the direction of the hearth wall. On the ground and upper floors, there are wooden beams. In the basement, they have used something more substantial - there are railway rails embedded in the wall above the doorways!
If you plan to make a hole in the wall, there are a few things to consider. First and foremost, ensure there are no flues right where you make the hole. It's not just fire flues in such a wall but probably also ventilation flues for natural ventilation. They can, to put it mildly, go in various directions, including several branches. Then the wall on the sides of your intended doorway must withstand supporting the beam you reinforce with over the doorway - no flues too close to the door either. If you can just fulfill this, I see no problem making a hole - there are houses built this way that have holes in the hearth wall "originally." But I won't suggest execution and dimensioning.