Cost to knock down an internal wall and rebuild another?

Davesnave

emmajanekitchen wrote: »

I see what you mean. I dunno, I remember knocking a wall out at my mums to save costs, think they installed the joist and we then took down the wall.

It was just an idea... And an excuse to possibly vent some frustrations.....

Do the words acrow props mean anything to you?

If not, see the post above your last, then Google...and let's hope it isn't really your last!

GrumpyTeacher

Tbf it was a long time ago and if I was clued up on it I wouldn't be on a public forum. I'm just thinking out loud. All I know is ive done it before under guidance but given it was nearly 10 years ago forgive me for skimping on any details!

kinger101

emmajanekitchen wrote: »

Tbf it was a long time ago and if I was clued up on it I wouldn't be on a public forum. I'm just thinking out loud. All I know is ive done it before under guidance but given it was nearly 10 years ago forgive me for skimping on any details!

No apology need. We were just concerned you may be doing something that puts yourself or your property in danger. This isn't really a DIY job. If you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing, leave it to the professionals.

Do you know what approval/certification you'll need for this work?

GrumpyTeacher

I don't know as I haven't spoken to the builder yet.

Hence asking on here for a ball park quote, to see if it's even worth mentioning. I'm sure if we decide to do it they will have all that info- I only needed a rough idea of price.

Owain_Moneysaver

emmajanekitchen wrote: »

mum can do stud work

GrumpyTeacher

Haha. Fairly accurate depiction.

structuralengineer

I hope you get to knock the wall through and get the open space you want, but please don't do anything without first getting a structural engineer to look at it. Removal of any internal wall by law has to be notified to Building Control, and if the wall is deemed to be loadbearing they will need to see structural calculations from you before they allow you to proceed.

The term "loadbearing" is a bit of a misnomer. Even if a wall does not have another wall over it, it could still be supporting floor, ceiling, or roof above it. Even if it is supporting none of those it could be buttressing another wall at 90 degrees to it. If you remove a buttressing wall you could end up making the side of your house unstable.

While I'm on a cautionary note, I should also mention studwork. Most people assume stud partitions are always non-loadbearing but that's not the case. For example in modern timber frame homes the floors are entirely supported by timber stud. And of course the stud wall may be buttressing another wall.

If you do the work without involving building control you may have problems selling your house as you will not have a "certificate of completion". There lies a whole other world of pain, as you can see by searching this forum.

Assuming you now have the calculations showing the size of the steel beam you need, I still would not recommend carrying out the work yourselves because of the risk of collapse or settlement.