A chimney doesn’t have one removal cost, because “chimney removal” usually means one of three different jobs. Taking the stack down to roof level and leaving the breast inside the house typically costs £800–£1,800. Removing the breast itself — the column of brickwork running up through the rooms, often either side of a fireplace — usually costs £1,500–£2,500 per floor once it’s properly supported. Take the lot out, stack and breast together across two floors with everything made good, and the fully done job typically runs £3,000–£7,000, more on a bigger or more complicated house.
The number that actually matters is which of those three jobs you’re being quoted for, because “chimney removal” adverts rarely say which one they mean. In my experience the bigger cost isn’t the demolition — it’s getting the structural support right and the paperwork straight, because a chimney breast is very often doing more to hold the house up than anyone realises until it’s gone.
I’m a building surveyor, not a chimney contractor, so what follows is 2026 pricing cross-checked against current UK trade guides, what actually drives the number, and the two things — building regulations sign-off and the gable-wall support question — that cause more grief on this job than the invoice does.
The short answer
Figures below were checked on 8 August 2026 against current 2026 cost guides from Checkatrade, MyBuilder and MyJobQuote, cross-referenced against each other rather than taken from a single source. As with most trades in this series, London and the South East — Dom’s patch included — commonly run 20–40% above the national figures quoted here, with the South West and the Home Counties around 10–20% above.
| Job | Typical cost (2026) | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Stack removed, breast retained | £800–£1,800 | Scaffold access, stack taken down to roof line, roof made weathertight |
| One breast removed (ground or first floor only) | £1,500–£2,500 | Structural support designed and installed, breast removed, basic making good |
| Breast removed on both floors | £2,500–£4,500 | As above at both levels — usually its own structural engineer's design for the full height |
| Full removal — stack and breast(s) together | £3,000–£7,000+ | Everything above, plus roof weathering and complete making good; complex or multi-storey jobs run higher |
Those bands sit close enough together across the trade guides to trust them, though one or two guides quote noticeably higher figures for what sounds like the same job — a sign that “chimney removal” quotes vary more by what's actually included (skip hire, scaffolding, making good, structural steel) than by the job itself. Ask for a written breakdown rather than a headline figure, so you're comparing like with like.
What drives the price
How much is actually coming out. A stack removed down to roof level is scaffolding, demolition and re-roofing over a smaller area. A breast removed from inside the house is a bigger structural job, because something now has to replace the support it was providing.
Structural support. A chimney breast isn't just bricks in a room — in an older or solid-wall house it's very often carrying some of the load from the floor or roof above, or bracing a gable wall. Removing it without replacing that support needs a steel beam (an RSJ) or gallows brackets specified by a structural engineer, and that design work — typically £250–£600 for the calculations, plus £800–£2,000 or so for the steel and padstones — is where a suspiciously cheap quote has usually left something out.
Access and scaffolding. External stack removal above roof level needs scaffolding, typically £300–£500, often shared with whatever roof making-good the job needs.
Number of floors. Each additional floor the breast runs through adds its own support and making-good cost — it isn't a simple multiple of the ground-floor price.
Making good. Plastering, floor levelling, ceiling patching and redecorating once the brickwork's gone typically add £1,000–£3,000 on top, and this is the item most likely to be missing from a bare demolition quote.
Region. London and the South East commonly run 20–40% above the national figures quoted here, in line with most trades in this series.
Building regs, the gable wall, and the neighbour next door
Building regulations apply whatever's coming out — stack, breast, or both — because it's structural work. You (or your contractor) submit a Building Notice or Full Plans application, and where the breast is load-bearing you'll need structural calculations to go with it. Building control inspects the work, and at the end you should receive a completion certificate. Keep it with the deeds. If it's missing when you come to sell, a mortgage lender's valuer or a buyer's solicitor will likely ask for it, and if it can't be found you may need a regularisation certificate or indemnity insurance to fill the gap — cheaper to avoid at the outset than to fix years later.
The bigger risk is the gable wall point, and it's the one I see missed most often. Many houses — older solid-wall Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis especially — have a chimney breast bonded into, or effectively forming part of, a gable end or spine wall, and it can be quietly doing real structural work: bracing the wall against wind loading, picking up floor joists, or simply adding the mass that's kept a wall standing plumb for a century. Take it out without the engineer's specified replacement support and you risk exactly the kind of bulge, crack or lean I get called out to survey years later on a house that “had the chimney out ages ago.” If the breast is load-bearing, “do I actually need an engineer” is close to always yes, whatever a builder's quick-job quote implies.
And if the chimney breast sits on or against a wall shared with next door — common in Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis, particularly where a flue once served both houses — removing your side is major works under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, not a courtesy conversation. You must serve written notice on your neighbour at least two months before starting, and if they don't give written consent, a party wall surveyor (sometimes one shared, sometimes one appointed by each side) has to produce an award before work can begin. That's a cost and a delay — commonly a few hundred pounds and several weeks if it isn't a straightforward consent — that most contractors won't flag unprompted because it isn't their fee to charge.
What I'd watch for in a quote
- Structural calculations and steel priced in, not left as an “if needed” extra once work's started.
- Whether making good is finished to a decorated standard or stops at bare plaster, leaving flooring and painting as your problem.
- Building control fees included or separate, and who's actually submitting the application.
- Party wall timescales flagged up front if the breast touches a shared wall — the two-month notice period catches people out because it isn't the contractor's job to remind you.
- A clear answer on the completion certificate — who keeps a copy, and confirmation it'll actually be applied for rather than assumed.
Questions I get asked
How much does it cost to remove a chimney breast in 2026? Removing a single-floor chimney breast typically costs £1,500–£2,500, including the structural support to replace it. Removing the breast on both floors typically runs £2,500–£4,500, and a full removal including the stack above the roof typically costs £3,000–£7,000 or more depending on the property and how much making good is needed. London and the South East commonly run 20–40% above these figures.
Do I need a structural engineer to remove a chimney breast? Almost always, if the breast is load-bearing — which most are in older houses. The engineer designs the steel beam or gallows brackets that replace the support the breast was providing, and building control will generally want to see those calculations before signing the work off. Skipping this step is the single biggest cause of structural problems traced back to a chimney removal years later.
Do I need my neighbour's permission to remove a chimney breast? If the breast sits on or against a wall shared with next door — common in Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis, particularly where a flue was once shared — removing it counts as major works under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, and you must serve written notice at least two months before starting. If your neighbour doesn't give written consent, a party wall surveyor needs to produce an award before work can begin.
Does removing a chimney affect my house's value or my mortgage? It can go either way. A little extra room and a flatter ceiling line appeal to some buyers, but a removal done without building regulations sign-off — and no completion certificate to show for it — is the kind of gap a mortgage lender's valuer or a buyer's solicitor will query, sometimes requiring indemnity insurance or a retrospective regularisation certificate before a sale can complete. A survey will normally pick up whether a chimney's been removed and check whether the paperwork exists.
If a chimney's already been taken out in a house you're buying, or you're weighing up doing it yourself, the useful question usually isn't the demolition price — it's whether the support was done properly and the paperwork's in order. That's exactly what my building survey work is for. Call 07946 618203 or get in touch and I'll tell you what I'd actually check before you sign off a quote.
Small print. This guide is general information, not advice on a specific property, and it doesn’t replace a proper survey and quote for your own home. Prices were researched and correct to the best of my knowledge on 8 August 2026; costs move and vary by region and property. Always get at least three written quotes, and check that any structural work has the engineer's calculations and a building regulations completion certificate to go with it.