Want to Knock Down a Wall in my Flat

RoboDog

Thanks for the replies guys. My partner manages all the admin stuff so I will find out who the freeholder is from her.

OK so after I get permission from the freeholder, the next & final step is building regs approval. Am I right?


Also, nobody has answered my questions about the costs, process & timelines for getting these approvals.


Cheers

cattie

Who do you pay ground rent & service charges to? This will either be the freeholder direct or via a managing agent. If the latter, then they will contact freeholder on your behalf.

Yorkie1

RoboDog wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. My partner manages all the admin stuff so I will find out who the freeholder is from her.

OK so after I get permission from the freeholder, the next & final step is building regs approval. Am I right?


Also, nobody has answered my questions about the costs, process & timelines for getting these approvals.


Cheers

You've had the answers above.

1. Check your lease to see whether f/h permission is required at all, whether you are wholly forbidden from doing any structural work, or whether you can do it only with written permission.

2. Get a structural engineer in to advise on what you want to do. They will tell you whether it's load-bearing or not etc. They may or may not be able to tell you the likely costs etc. The detail of what you want to do will need to be provided to the f/holder if you seek permission.

3. The engineer should also be able to advise on whether you need to seek BRegs approval from the local authority.

4. You will need to apply for whatever approval / permissions are necessary. There will be a BR fee, and you are likely to have to pay for seeking f/h permission too but check the lease.

5. Do not start until you've got all necessary permissions in writing. Remember to get BR sign-off once the work is completed, if necessary.

Nobody on here can advise in any detail on costs. You need to get that from someone who can see the issues on the ground.

RoboDog

Thank you all for the informative replies... Especially Yorkie. That was really helpful & exactly what I needed to get going on my project!

googler

RoboDog wrote: »

OK so after I get permission from the freeholder, the next & final step is building regs approval. Am I right?

No. You owe it to the folks on the four floors above you to ensure that what you propose is SAFE.

Get a structural engineer to approve it before you do anything else.

RoboDog

Thanks... I got that from Yorkie's post...

I have contacted the freeholder & they are posting me a application form. I have also asked my handyman to come & have a preliminary look at the wall before calling over a certified structural engineer to give me a bit of clarity.

Dan-Dan

You will have to commit some cash at some point , because only a structural engineer can give you the calculations that you will HAVE to provide to various partys

macman

Any competent builder can assess whether it is structural or not. If it isn't, then the whole thing becomes a lot simpler and cheaper: your freeholder should not be concerned, nor your LA.
Establish this first before you spend on anything else.

Prothet_of_Doom

When you tap it, does it feel solid like brick or hollow like a woodframe, covered in plasterboord.
When you drill it, does brick dust blunt the drill, or could you hammer an 8 inch nail through from one side to the other?

If it's a partition wall made of plasterboard and a softwood frame, I'd just bash it and pray that it's not holding up the ceiling and the four floors above. If there's brick, I'm getting calculations done by a structural engineer with professional indemnity insurance and submitted to the council for building regulations and employing a builder with professional indemnity insurance to put in the RSJ

RoboDog

Thank you for all your posts. I am looking in to getting someone qualified to determine whether its load bearing or not.

When I tap the wall it feels hollow, like a woodframe/plasterboard, except for a small section which feels solid. I suspect that might be a pillar of some sort, but I would like someone with the required qualifications to determine that.


Cheers