Knocking Down a Wall - Advice Please.

chika

Hi everyone.

I want to have the wall in between my hallway and living room opened top. The house would be so much better without it - I currently have a really narrow hall that is less than a metre wide and a dark living room.

I as far as I've checked the wall isn't suporting anything. It is hollow when tapped and perhaps made of plasterboard. The ceiling is held up buy oak beams and I suspect that this house was once a one up one down.

I know that its hard to give a correct price but has anyone done a similar thing? How much did it cost them. My wall is about 2 metres high by 2.5 metres long. Would you attempt the job yourself?

TIA

Chika

whyhellothere

I cant help but this mite be useful

Make sure you have something supporting the load when removing the wall abit metal bar usually works

damski_2

if you are 100% sure that the wall isnt supporting anything (check which way the joists run)

then do it yourself

I knocked out a stud wall between my kitchen and dining room, you just need to be careful with any wiring or plumbing that is within the wall

but if its just a wall its not hard, you might need a plastere to patch it up but thats all


good luck and enjoy

the mindless vandalism is good fun

culpepper

remember to put down protecting covering for all areas around the wall.
We knocked down the upstairs part of our stair wall and managed to knock quite a large hunk out of the stairs too:(
Are you sure the bottom floor-wall is not holding up the stairs? Ours is.

chika

Thanks for the help so far! I dont think its holding anything up. But to double check would I need to call a surveyor or is there any way of doing it myself? I'm slightly nervous this is the first big DIY thing I've ever tackled and I've seen those scary telly programs ... However it would be a massive bounus if I could do it myself and save some cash!

The wall doesnt hold the stairs up - they are stone and kind of built into the house. The material changes when it gets to the stairs and there is a ridge so you can tell where the original solid wall ends and the hollow one starts.

davidjwest

Here's a tip, hit it very hard with a very big hammer.

Seriously, one bit of advice is make sure you cover everything nearby with dustsheets and move anything you can, pictures, soft furnishings etc etc well away as there is going to be a lot of dust which will be hard to get rid of!

economiser

Chika. If you have floor boards on the upper floor the joists will be running in the opposite direction. Thus if the upstairs floorboards are are at right angles to your downstairs wall you are probably safe. From what you say it sounds OK but if in doubt though get some advice.

Paul_the_Painter

As you've decided its going to go, just puch a great big hole in it with a big hammer, then do the same from the other side, if you can see daylight through the holes, it is not a supporting wall, they are made of brick/blockwork. There is a possibility that it is a supporting wall with dabbed on plaster board (they sound hollow too), but you will see that immediatly when your hammer hits brick;)

The worst that can happen is you find out it is a supporting wall and have to get the pollyfilla out, a lot cheaper than a surveyor

nelly_2

Smack a hole in the ceiling at the side to see if the joists sit on it, youll have to repair the scar left anyway if you take it down. Also you could be looking a 200 quid + just to replaster, even though its just a bit of ceilling and 2 strips up the walls at eith end its a pain in the !!!!!! of a job ive done a few

MGAstra

As the economiser said above, check your upstairs joists. If the wall supports the joists, you'll need to use an RSJ (bit of metal shaped like an 'I'). If so, it'll just stick down maybe 3 inch from the ceiling but you can always box this in with plaster board and paint over it etc.

The upstairs floor boards run at 90 degrees to the joists. So this means if your upstairs floor boards run in same direction as your wall then the joists all sit on top of the wall and hence it is supporting. (assuming its a downstairs wall your removing).

I'm very interested to know how you go on with this, as I will be doing the same thing soon in the house I've just bought.