Chimneys and parapets
The stack stops in the roof space and the breast remains in the bedroom below. What support between those two was not opened up?
The support between the stack that stops in the roof and the breast in the bedroom was not opened up. The chimney stops in the loft while the breast below is still standing. Whatever is holding that breast, a beam, brackets, or corbelling, was not exposed. The survey can see that the stack does not continue and that the breast remains. It cannot see the connection meant to carry the masonry. The support is the unseen item between those two. The report has not confirmed that support is adequate.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Removing a stack in the roof takes away the masonry that used to sit on the breast below. The breast then needs another way to be held. That way is often a beam across the opening or brackets in the loft, and it is only proved by seeing it. The bedroom breast does not show the steel or timber above the ceiling. The survey recorded the mismatch: stack gone in the roof, breast still there. The joint between them stayed closed.
Ask a structural engineer to establish how the remaining breast is supported before anyone strips more of the chimney. Tell the solicitor the support between the roof-space stop and the bedroom breast was not opened up, so the survey has not confirmed it. Any building-regulations approval for the removal would be a paper the solicitor can ask for. The survey has not produced that approval, and it has not said the breast can stay without a look at the support.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where does the stack stop, and does the breast remain below?
- What support between them was left unopened?
- Has the adequacy of that support not been confirmed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the support between stack and breast as unseen.
- Ask an engineer how the bedroom breast is held.
- Ask the solicitor for any approval of the removal, as a separate paper.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the bedroom ceiling is uncracked, is the breast supported?
An uncracked ceiling does not show the support. The stack stops in the roof and the breast remains, and the connection between them was not opened up. The survey has not confirmed the support is adequate. A fair ceiling can hide a missing beam. Do not treat the absence of a crack as a view of the steel or timber.
Can the breast stay because the pots have already gone?
Removing the pots, or stopping the stack in the roof, is what creates the question. It does not answer how the breast below is held. The support was not opened up, and the survey has not confirmed it. Pots gone means less masonry above. They do not prove a beam or brackets are there. That support is the unseen item.