Load bearing wall

[olliejim]

Hi all....I have just bought a victorian semi detatched with the intent of modernising. Between the kitchen (back) and dining room (front) there is a chimney throughout the whole house. Next to the chimney (on both floors) is a single skin 4" wall (850mm wide) that divides the remainder of the room up to the door lining. I aim to remove this small section of wall at ground level. The joists upstairs are running perpendicular to the wall so one would assume that it is load bearing. However, the first floor wall is sat on top of the floorboards and at loft level there is latham plaster between the top of the wall and the roof joists. To me, this indicates that this wall has been built up at a later stage? Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Cheers, olliejim

 

[andersonec]

You will need to lift some boards and check that the floor joists are one continuous length across the room and not two, i.e. one running from opposite ends and resting on the wall in the centre, the same for upstairs, if it was a diy job in the past god knows what nasty little surprises you may have been left with, check under the floorboards what is sitting on the wall.
There was a programme on not so long ago where a couple had removed a downstairs wall and it was found to be a load bearing wall whilst filming, they were made to move out immediately.

Andy

 

[Rhossydd]

Definitely get the advice of a surveyor before removing walls.
Get it wrong and it's possible your building insurance won't cover any mishap. The financial consequences could be horrific, a pile of rubble, no money to rebuild and still a mortgage to pay back.

Having been just 100yds away from a house that actually collapsed because of renovation work, I know this isn't just scare mongering.

 

[Mattty]

Hi,
To me it sounds like a normal load bearing wall. The wall upstairs could well be a lighter weight material such as cinder block, which where common as partition walls, and were often built directly off 1st floor floor boards, but normally directly or close to being over the wall below. The reality though is the ground floor wall is probably still supporting the floor above and would need a structural beam in place.

Undertaking work of this nature requires a building regs application. If you contact your LA building control they may well offer you free advice as to if the wall is load bearing or not. Another option would be to advertise the job on the FMB website. This way you could get some free quotes and advice for the work from trustworthy builders.

 

[Berncarpenter]

I always use a structural engineer to check whether the wall is load bearing and he then works out whats needed if it is.I get the calculations to give to the building inspector and piece of mind that the beam is the correct size.The last job i did involving a supporting RSJ beam, the beam cost £100 and the calcs £120 .Hope this helps Bern.

 

[Mike.S]

Hi,
To me it sounds like a normal load bearing wall. The wall upstairs could well be a lighter weight material such as cinder block, which where common as partition walls, and were often built directly off 1st floor floor boards, but normally directly or close to being over the wall below. The reality though is the ground floor wall is probably still supporting the floor above and would need a structural beam in place.

+1

Matty's description matches my 1930s house - 1st floor wall (cinder block) built straight off floorboards, about 300mm offset from brick built ground floor wall. Latter supports joists and 1st floor wall, which in turn supports the 1st floor ceiling joists.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't forget - presumption is a no no. Just because something shouldn't be load bearing it doesn't follow that it isn't.

 

[sparticus]

You need to put in a pre-cast conctrete lintel, the size will be dependent upon the clear span.
You need to take up the floorboards above and see what joists rest upon this wall, even if they are continuous.
You need to measure the total span of these joists on both sides of the wall.
How high will the lintel go, the more wall there is left between the lintel and ceiling the more any point loads from the joists will be disapated .

If the spaces are bacically doorways,(less than 1m) then, it stucturally is fairly simple, if it's a llong way, over 3m then you will need a structural engineer.

Another point to note, the bearing of the lintel needs to be at least 100mm, so you will need to knock a hole in the chimney. If it's an old victorian chimney, this could create cracks in the mortar unless the chimney is already lined.