Is a brick fireplace ever "load bearing"?

[gfh77665]

I buy and rent (or flip) houses. Latest house aqusition is an early 80's model, 2700 sq. ft., with two brick fireplaces. I want to demo them since they are fake, with a fake electric "fire" in them. Waaay ugly. No chimineys go through the roof.

I think they stop just above the ceiling. Can I safely demo them without causing any load bearing issues? They are both flat against exterior walls, so I am pretty confident they bear no structural weight. Do you all agree? Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[PimTac]

They should be supported on their own with their own footing. Once removed you will have to fill in the gap in the eave where the chimney passed through and the siding where it stood.

 

[Hall]

They are both flat against exterior walls

The exterior wall is doing the load bearing. The chimney is just a facade. Effectively no different than the brick exterior on our house - it's there for looks.

 

[zzyzzx]

Unlikely.

 

[BISCUT]

If initially designed that way should not be load bearing.

 

[oldhp]

I used to lay brick for living and have built many fireplaces. NO fire place should ever be load being. They should be their own entity sitting there. Nothing should be attached either that has anything to do with other walls or supports. Take your time taking it down, big chunks of bricks are a lot heavier then one would think!!! Good Luck!!!

 

[JHZR2]

In my home, which is quite old, there is a chimney (for heat and domestic hot water), which seems (to me) to be used for floor joist connections. on upper levels It goes down to the ground in the basement. In the basement, there is a major beam that goes alongside the chimney, so that beam is doing the wall support down low, but the upper levels may have some connectivity.

But if this is faux in your situation, Id suspect its not for any of that.

If you demolished something and sold someone a piece of junk, based upon internet opinion, you will have liability due to faulty repairs. Protect yourself by having a proper structural engineer do some real assessment and recommnedations, so that you have a paper trail and a proper opinion.

 

[PimTac]

If they used the interior chimney for floor joist connection On the upper floors then they did it wrong. There shouldn’t be any house structure relying on the chimney. They usually frame around it. The framing will stabilize the chimney but the chimney should not be used to support house framing.

 

[JHZR2]

If they used the interior chimney for floor joist connection On the upper floors then they did it wrong. There shouldn’t be any house structure relying on the chimney. They usually frame around it. The framing will stabilize the chimney but the chimney should not be used to support house framing.

Honestly Ive never looked that close. Could well be that it was framed around it, and what I recall seeing was just the framing around it somehow attached (nailed?) to it.

The interesting part to me was the OP's comment that it didnt go through the roof. But what about into the basement? One should be able to see what it is resting on. Id assume its floatng on the floor, not even supported down through the basement into the floor/below into footings for it, like mine has. If its fully unsupported, that would be a pretty good indicator...

 

[gfh77665]

Thats a good thought, but no basements here in SETX! We live down in the swamps. A basement is impossible here. It would immeadiately fill up with water. We are literally a few feet above sea level. Maybe 10-15 ft.

 

[gfh77665]

If they used the interior chimney for floor joist connection On the upper floors then they did it wrong. There shouldn’t be any house structure relying on the chimney.

Yes, its a one story house.

 

[gfh77665]

I used to lay brick for living and have built many fireplaces. NO fire place should ever be load being. They should be their own entity sitting there. Nothing should be attached either that has anything to do with other walls or supports. Take your time taking it down, big chunks of bricks are a lot heavier then one would think!!! Good Luck!!!

Thanks. I was hoping someone who actually lays brick might respond. Good info!

 

[PimTac]

Honestly Ive never looked that close. Could well be that it was framed around it, and what I recall seeing was just the framing around it somehow attached (nailed?) to it.

The interesting part to me was the OP's comment that it didnt go through the roof. But what about into the basement? One should be able to see what it is resting on. Id assume its floatng on the floor, not even supported down through the basement into the floor/below into footings for it, like mine has. If its fully unsupported, that would be a pretty good indicator...

His chimney sounds like it’s completely exterior of the house. I know what you’re saying. Older houses had wood or coal furnaces in the basement thus the need for the chimney. As those systems got replaced by newer systems the chimney just became a vent.

A real old house might have more than one chimney inside or a dual flue if the kitchen originally had a wood cook stove.

The OP should check his chimney out closely. Ive seen newer chimneys from the early 60’s that were wood framed and sheathed then had what I call fake brick attached. Usually that brick was narrower and attached to metal rails with clips. Mortar hid everything.

 

[IndyIan]

You'll be patching drywall anyways so I'd take out some extra to have a look at what they did. I guess you'll know how "creative" the local builders tend to be, but it sure sounds like the house was framed and roofed before the chimney was built.

 

[Duffyjr]

Ex mason here. One thing to look for is how they tied it into the existing wall, if they did it right about every 6 courses there should be a small metal strap (wall tie) nailed to the vertical 2x4's that is bent over into the brick wall, this is what holds the brick wall up. Be careful I have seen brick walls that have very few of these ties and seen big chunks of wall come down all at once.

Here is a pic of what I'm talking about.

 

[gfh77665]

His chimney sounds like it’s completely exterior of the house.

The chimneys are both inside the house. up against exterior walls. Nothing goes through the roof or eaves. Since there is little or no space in the attic at the perimeter of the house (hip roof), I cannot get a clear view of whats above the ceiling. I think only an inch or two of the chimneys are above the ceiling, since there is almost no headroom at the far edges of the attic.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The chimneys are both inside the house. up against exterior walls. Nothing goes through the roof or eaves. Since there is little or no space in the attic at the perimeter of the house (hip roof), I cannot get a clear view of whats above the ceiling. I think only an inch or two of the chimneys are above the ceiling, since there is almost no headroom at the far edges of the attic.

Wait, I'm confused. Where the heck does it vent...or is it a fake chimney?

 

[gfh77665]

Its a real brick fireplace.

 

[gfh77665]

I want to demo them since they are fake, with a fake electric "fire" in them.

No vent. Electric. ^^^

 

[gfh77665]

Update: So we closed on the house last week and demo has begun. The fireplace is not load bearing at all. The ceiling has been framed up around it, nothing is supported by any of the brickwork. I smashed about a third of it down starting from the top.