Remove Bath/Toilet Wall - Surveyor Needed??

Shrimp_Stu

Hi,
Hope someone can help advise us.

We are having some work done, by a friend (who installs bathrooms), to make our bathroom bigger.
Currently we have a seperate bathroom and toilet upstairs and we are knocking out the wall between these two rooms. The wall in question is roughly about 6 foot and we do not believe it is a supporting wall - it doesn't run the width of the house (!) - and would appear to be easy to remove.
Our house is a 1930's semi, and two of our neighbours with exactly the same layout as our houses have knocked their wall down between the bathroom and toilet without any problems - so we can not see this being a problem.

Our friend has advised us that due to Homebuyers Survey we need a Surveyor to check it the wall is ok to come down, he has also apparently spoken to our local council about this (but I dont know what feedback he got). We do not intend to move in the next 5 years at least anyway.

The problem is that the Surveyor he has organised, lives 50 miles away so we are having to pay for his time to come over and inspect the wall where we dont perceive this necessary. Is this required for removing a small wall in the house . Also, when the Surveyor phoned us last night and spoke to my wife he seemed to suggest that he wasn't needed, he advised us to check in the loft to see if it "pokes out" or has any supporting joists on the loft beams - to be honest the terminology used wasnt what we expected from a qualified surveyor . Our friend doing the actual removal of the wall said that in 99.9% of cases it should be ok but wanted to check! So who do we believe? Could we not get indemnity insurance to guarantee this removal - when we moved in we paid £50 indemnity insurance against the removal of the chimney breast in the house from the 1980's.


Any advice greatly appreciated as the work starts on Monday and if we need the surveyor we need to get him round quickly.

Thanks
Stuart

mikeywills

Go into your attic above where the wall is if the wall comes through the ceiling but does not have any joists sitting on it it is not load bearing. If you cannot see the wall at all i.e it is below the plasterboard it is also not load bearing. If it is parallel with the roof trusses and without any truss sat on top it will not be load bearing.
The age of your house is such that the wall construction might be timber with brick in between, so it sounds dense when you knock on it, try drilling a small hole between the two rooms to ascertain what the wall is made of.
It is very uncommon for a second storey in a two storey property to be load bearing, but it can be dependant on the shape of your roof, if it is more complex with hips and extentions.

Shrimp_Stu

The roof has not been altered since it was built.
Is it recommended or a legal requirement that a surveyor comes out to inspect before it is pulled down?

We are a bit disappointed that when our friend came round to inspect the job - he went up in the loft but didnt check - I believe that you can not see the wall "poking" out into the loft.

mikeywills

Try a test hole yourself, to find out what it is made of.

I try to avoid using friend for work at home as if it goes well all if fine if it goes wrong it puts a lot of strain on the friendship.

Shrimp_Stu

My friend is now happy to take the wall down without a surveyor inspecting but wants me to provide some sort of indemnity/signed document that would limit his responsibility by removing the wall - can I arrange indemnity insurance or what should I put in a written document that would limit his liability to removing the wall.
Obviously, this would just be limited to the removal of the wall and circumstances associated to its' removal rather than anything else.

merikiito

Hi, take the wall out yourself its not difficult. That way you would not be putting any strain on your friend should things go wrong. I have taken many walls out similiar to yours and there has never been any problems. Make sure you seal the doors to stop the dust going everywhere and wear suitable safety items such as gloves,goggles and boots. Good luck!

Shrimp_Stu

Unfortunately, I can not take the wall out myself - as we are going away on holiday whilst this work is being carried out and do not have the time to do this (2 young children keep us occupied).
I just wanted to know how/what was needed in a document to limit my friends liablility when he takes this wall down.

mikeywills

No idea, what to do about the indemnity, but going away for the duration of the work, is only a good if you are confident that you have put across all your wants about the room and how it will be finished.
We have almost completed our own bathroom which has been ongoing over the last 4 weeks, as I have done a lot of the work myself tiling construction work excetera, the only other trade I have had in is a plumber.
If I am not on site with him when he is doing the work I have not had things put where I wanted them, and they have had to be redone.
Be very clear before you start have drawings, visuals etc or you might come back and it not look quite how you hoped.