Is my lounge/diner wall load bearing

Dan-Dan

Hi

Just checking , we want to take out an internal wall that a few neighbours have done , and we think it`s non supporting , but unlike our neighbours we dont want to just crack on without double checking for ourselves

We have an exposed kitchen ceiling at the moment and i can see the joists run from back to front of the house , the wall we want to take out is running part of the house side to side

Can i assume therefore its non load bearing or shall i play safe and ask a structural engineer to check for me?

Cheers

Doozergirl

The joists and wall running in opposite directions indicates that it may well be a supporting wall! Depending on the age of a house, even a wall that wasn't initially load bearing can become so over time.

Structural engineer. It it's not supporting then you'll pay for an hour of their time, nothing more.

Dan-Dan

Doozergirl wrote: »

The joists and wall running in opposite directions indicates that it may well be a supporting wall! Depending on the age of a house, even a wall that wasn't initially load bearing can become so over time.

Structural engineer. It it's not supporting then you'll pay for an hour of their time, nothing more.

You know what , when i stand in the kitchen looking up at the exposed joists , i do think it looks like the wall running opposite to them , surley MUST be load bearing , to my untrained eye anyway , yet the wall running parallel with the joists , my structurla engineer has already marked that as load bearing and given my builder the caluclations for the steel (we are having it taken out next week)

So possibly two load bearing walls , almost next to each other , yet facing different directions !

Thanks doozergirl

Dan-Dan

Sorry , house is 1976

DTDfanBoy

Dan-Dan wrote: »

You know what , when i stand in the kitchen looking up at the exposed joists , i do think it looks like the wall running opposite to them , surley MUST be load bearing , to my untrained eye anyway , yet the wall running parallel with the joists , my structurla engineer has already marked that as load bearing and given my builder the caluclations for the steel (we are having it taken out next week)

So possibly two load bearing walls , almost next to each other , yet facing different directions !

Thanks doozergirl

If you already have a structural engineer involved they must have already checked the wall in question, or have you just decided to remove it ?


As you have the ceilings down in both rooms measure the joists and see if they are able to cover the entire span adequately.


Also check that the joists haven't been joined above the wall you intend to remove, I've encountered walls in the past, which were never designed to bear loads, that had some joists joined above them so the builder could save a few ££

Dan-Dan

Sorry , i made a total balls up earlier , rushing! , the joists run side to side , so the wall we want to remove in the future which the neighbours all around have also done , is running the same way as the joists , the wall were having taken down next week , is running forward to back......

I contacted the structural engineer and he confirmed the wall shouldnt be load bearing based on how he calculated the wall that IS

Doozergirl

There you go. That made it free

Dan-Dan

lol i confuse myself!