Why do people take chimneys down?
Earthquake risk. The Natural Hazards Commission says homes built before 1970 most likely have unreinforced brick or masonry chimneys. After the Canterbury earthquakes, BRANZ found that damage to iron and metal tile roofs came mainly from chimneys falling onto them. Our guide to chimneys and earthquakes covers the risk in more depth.
Leaks. Cracked brickwork, crumbling mortar and loose flashings make old chimneys a regular leak point.
A cold fireplace. If nobody lights it any more, the chimney is all weight and no warmth.
What does the job involve?
Check what the chimney is holding up
Some chimneys are tied into the framing or carry load. That decides whether the job is exempt from consent and how much building work follows.
Scaffold and protect the area
WorkSafe's example control for roofing work on a house is scaffolding with full edge protection, and falling bricks must be stopped, caught or kept inside a no-go zone. Scaffolding with any part 5 metres or more up needs a scaffolder with a certificate of competence.
Take it down by hand
Brick by brick from the top, with rubble lowered or chuted into a skip. A full removal carries on through the ceiling space to the hearth.
Make good inside
The fireplace opening, hearth, linings and ceiling may need closing up, plastering and painting. Agree who's doing that before the job starts.
Close up the roof
The opening is framed over, roofed to match and flashed in, so it's as weathertight as the rest of the roof.
Clear up and hand over
Rubble gone, photos of the finished roof, and any consent paperwork, including a Record of Work from each LBP if it was restricted building work.
Matching the roof where the chimney was
On iron or longrun, a roofer may replace whole sheets so there's no visible patch, and Dimond advises roofing and accessories from the same manufacturer so the colour weathers evenly. Lead flashings shouldn't go on ZINCALUME or COLORSTEEL, because New Zealand Steel says lead corrodes those coatings.
Tile roofs take more hunting. Gerard says single pressed metal tiles can be replaced, and BRANZ's Level says clay tiles can be reused if lifted carefully, though up to 30% may be lost to damage. If a re-roof is on the cards anyway, the patching question disappears.
Consent, character and heritage
MBIE's Exemption 31 allows removing a chimney from a building of up to 3 storeys without a consent, as long as it doesn't affect the primary structure, any specified system or any fire separation. The Natural Hazards Commission also notes removal may need a consent, so if you're told the job is exempt, ask for the reason in writing and check with the council if in doubt.
If a consent is needed and the work affects the structure or weathertightness, it's restricted building work, which an LBP must carry out or supervise. Carpentry and Roofing are the licence classes that usually fit.
In Auckland's Special Character Areas, external alterations need resource consent, and Heritage New Zealand says works that may modify or destroy a pre-1900 structure need an archaeological authority. Check your district plan before booking.
Who does the work?
Often it's a team effort: a builder takes the stack down and frames the gap, and a roofer closes up and flashes the roof. Some roofing firms handle the lot.
We pass your job to one checked roofer who covers your area and takes on chimney work. If you want to keep a fire, say so early: the Natural Hazards Commission says a chimney still in use can have its above-roof section replaced with a lighter metal flue.
What makes the job bigger or smaller?
How tall the stack is, how far down it's coming, and whether it's a double chimney serving two fireplaces. What the roof is made of and how easily it can be matched. How much making good is needed inside. Whether scaffolding is already up for other work. An earthquake-damaged chimney is slower, more careful work, because loose brickwork can drop without warning.
What a good chimney removal quote spells out
- How far down the chimney comes, and whether a flue is being fitted
- Scaffolding and edge protection, and who supplies them
- How bricks and rubble come down and leave the site
- How the roof will be closed: framing, roofing material, maker and flashings
- What's included inside, from the hearth to linings and paint, and what isn't
- Who checks whether a consent is needed, and who applies if it is
- What happens if they find rot, hidden damage or anything that might be asbestos
- For residential building work of $30,000 or more including GST, a written contract and the official disclosure information before you sign
If the chimney is already cracked or leaning
Stop using the fireplace, and keep people and pets away from the chimney outside and the wall beneath it inside. After an earthquake, expect loose brickwork to fall in an aftershock. Never climb up to check it. Photograph it from the ground and tell your insurer, because earthquake damage to the home is covered by the Natural Hazards Commission through your home insurance.
What's yours, and what's for the professionals
You can
- Look the chimney over from the ground, with binoculars if you have them
- Stop using a fireplace whose chimney is cracked, leaning or shedding mortar
- Check your district plan for character or heritage rules
- Tell your insurer before the work starts
Leave to a roofer
- Taking the chimney down from scaffolding
- Framing over the opening and roofing it in
- Flashings, and any new metal flue
What we'd do with an old chimney
If the fireplace isn't used, we'd take the chimney out to floor level and have the roof closed with matching material in the same job. If we wanted to keep the fire going, we'd replace the brickwork above the roofline with a lighter metal flue. And if a re-roof or repaint is due in the next few years, we'd get the chimney done first.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.