Knocking through load bearing wall

hamsan

Hi there, I'm looking to knock through a wall between two reception rooms as part of a refurb on a 3 bed Victorian terrace that I'm buying, and have been told very different things by the three builders that have been in.

Builder 1 - says we may need steel frame on each side of the hole (i.e. three sides of the square) as building control are getting nervous about the effect of too many terraced houses knocking through these walls.

Builder 2 - says we can knock through with just one steel beam, but can only open it up to 2 metres without getting structural engineer, building control etc

Builder 3 - says we can knock a much wider hole without the need for structural engineer.

Any ideas who is right?

Many thanks in advance.

G_M

Why are you asking a builder?

Ask a professional - get in a structural engineer.

And go and speak to Building Control at the council.

Fire_Fox

Not really a topic for this board, agree speak to the council yourself and get the appropriate professional in. Remember anything you do that is not spot on may come back and bite you on the bum when you come to sell, even if your house doesn't actually cave in.

G_M

As well as my suggestions above, you could post on

http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=36

propertyman

Absolutely no question employ a local chartered building surveyor or structural engineer.

They can inspect AND write the specification which you can then take to tender. Builders then quote on the same basis and you have a clear spec to monitor them on.

If it is a full width opening you will need to serve Party Wall Notices which the above can help you with.

Builder 1 is likely correct, it's not just taking the load above but tying the lateral loads on walls, and to adjacent properties that is important. That load however has to be tied into the floor as well.

Whether it is required here, is a matter of the surveyors/engineers inspection to say.

the extra fees are worth it.

theGrinch

you need a structural engineer.

hamsan

Thank you for the replies, and apologies for posting in the wrong place. Just to clarify, I wasn't planning on doing it myself, but have the builders do it as part of a larger project. I had more faith in builders 2 and 3 as they are very experienced in the area, done lots of similar projects, and both have good reputations. Had been hoping to save on a structural engineer but that sounds like the safe bet.

Richard_Webster

I would be concerned if a builder thought he could do this sort of work without ta least consulting building control and getting them to look at what was proposed.

propertyman

hamsan wrote: »

I had more faith in builders 2 and 3 as they are very experienced in the area, done lots of similar projects, and both have good reputations. Had been hoping to save on a structural engineer but that sounds like the safe bet.

I'll be less polite than Richard, Builder 2 and 3 are idiots, removal of a load bearing wall and a steel do require local building consent, period.

When you cone to sell a buyer will want to see the consent and in most cases want to see that the design and installation was set by a structural engineer or surveyor to ensure it was done correctly and the right size.

In a terraced house, lateral loads have to be considered otherwise it's like dominos, put one across the top of two and it will take the vertical load, but one slight shove sideways and it all collapses.

And did any one them mention Party Walls?

pararct

Always check any builders you consider for work are competent. This can be done by looking to see if they are members of professional associations or asking them to provide references or examples of previous work and CHECKING THEM.
Any builder worth his salt will only be too happy to oblige.

As has been pointed out example 1 is almost certainly the right answer and has implied building control will be needed. The other two sound like cowboys.

Even if building control only insisted on a steel across the top (which has always been the minimum required standard) the additional steels gives peace of mind against little/moderate cost.

Lovelyjoolz

hamsan wrote: »

Had been hoping to save on a structural engineer ...

For the sake of a couple of hundred quid you want to risk falling the wrong side of building control and/or setting yourself up for serious structural problems later on? Are you mad?

Where in the country are you? I may be able to recommend an engineer local to you.