Knocking down walls - cost for RSJ & making good

ridin8ude

Hi All,
I'm seeking some advice about a potential house purchase I may be making and the effort/cost to knock some walls about.
It's a ~1950's single storey bungalow that needs to be modernized.

I want to get a very rough idea of the potential cost to knock down 2-3 walls in the house. I would get a structural engineer to do the calculations and attempt to find a reliable builder to do the work including making everything good.

I just want to get a sense if we are taking big money e.g. >10k or closer to 2-3k.

Attached are drawings I've made up myself to try to show the area I want to change. Essentially I want to knock down walls between the 2nd/3rd bedrooms, and shift the kitchen to make a large open plan living space. I would also open up the bathroom/toilet to give space for a shower.

If I went ahead with the purchase I'd likely hire an architect to give me ideas on how to maximize the space, but would be great if I can get a rough idea of these structural changes before putting in my offer.

I would plan to go into the loft in the future to restore the bedrooms I've removed, so the beams would need to cope with that future development.
I'd also love to open up some bi-fold doors to the garden, but unfortunately budget will not permit me to do this now.

This is the house in question:
http://www.edmund.co.uk/Property/Residential/for-sale/Kent/Petts-Wood/Towncourt-Lane/EEV13376.aspx

Current Plan (My inaccurate mock up)
http://i40.tinypic.com/14cusqr.jpg

Proposed plan showing the open layout
http://i40.tinypic.com/206ct4m.jpg

I guess I could potentially retain bedroom 2, only opening up bedroom 3 to the lounge, move the kitchen to the lounge, and add a door from the new dining area to bedroom 2, but assume moving plumbing to the other side of the house would be more work or have potential drain issues?

If I've neglected to provide crucial information please let me know and I'll update accordingly if I can...

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!

maggies2008

It does sound like a considerable amount of work so I'd think over £10k (assuming this includes new kitchen, bathroom etc).

ridin8ude

Hi thanks for the reply, yeah agree the total project will be more and I'm working on those estimates as well e.g. how much for bathroom, kitchen, new floors, heating, electrics, etc

But I'm trying to get my head around how much steel would be needed, and how much it costs to fit and make good into a house like this as it's something I have no experience with.

I've contacted some surveyors as well, and considering getting someone to go onsite with me to give me their rough estimate but worried the house will sell before I can get that arranged...

USM

We are about to go through a similar thing and builders/structural engineers haven't been willing to even give a ballpark before seeing our detailed plans and then hiring a structural engineer to do the steel calculations.

Out of interest, what did you use to make your plans - they look better than my Microsoft Publisher made ones

evokit

All depends on where you live and your builders cost/mark ups.
I have just had 2 supporting walls removed in manchester to go open plan.
wall one - 2800mm steal - £300 inc labour
wall two approx 3000mm - £250 inc labour
these prices are not to finish as im doing all that myself.
wall 2 was a late decission, so due to this i know the steal cost £110
and the rest was labour to get steal between joists.
for wall one my next quote was £600 and one after that was £1200.
of course im keeping these builders and doing alot more work for me as their prices = 's
also paid structuial eng - £ 220
building regs - £180 (waiste of time but needed) to re-sale

BlueC

being a bungalow, are you sure the internal walls are structural? that would save you a lot of hassle if they're not!

evokit's post is good - it shows the variance of what people will quote for labour - some builders will have your pants down just because it is a RSJ which most householders would think is a "big job" - when really it isn't at all.

you can expect to pay IRO £300 for engineer's calcs. £200 for building regs. the steels will be a fixed cost too and easy to price up once you know the dimensions. then its all about labour - you need a good builder you can trust not to rip you off.

ridin8ude

Thanks for the replies.
Giving me a much better feel for the cost and also a sense that it's not a MAJOR job and should be doable with the right builder.
(as it's a bungalow I have no idea if these are supporting or not, but wanting to think worst case for cost estimate)

I'm gonna try to work out the thickest/biggest size for the beam and see what prices I can find online for the material, then it's just down to the local labor rates.

p.s. I made the drawings using Chief Architect Premiere x3 (Punch Home design is also similar). It helps to have a floorplan from the agent, but I typically try to build my own floor plan with measurements for any property I'm interested in as it gives me a better feel for the space as I can compare it more easily to my existing home!

ridin8ude

USM wrote: »

Out of interest, what did you use to make your plans - they look better than my Microsoft Publisher made ones

The software is really easy to use and fun to play with, and am sure with some practice it could be really powerful.

Here is my existing home plan which I've tried to make accurate, and gives me a sense of space that works for us now. Hence the open plan for the bungalow would give us virtually the same space.
I like that I can measure my actual kitchen, furniture, etc and put it into the plan to get an idea of how it fits and then use that space in any new plans I make from other properties.


http://i41.tinypic.com/9zltw0.jpg

Renting an expensive flat is growing old though, so eager to find a my own home soon...

BlueC

ridin8ude wrote: »

p.s. I made the drawings using Chief Architect Premiere x3 (Punch Home design is also similar).

Looks good, but costs $2000?!

ridin8ude

BlueC wrote: »

Looks good, but costs $2000?!

I think I meant Chief Architect Home Design - for around £37 on amazon.co.uk!!!