Load bearing wall? I don't think so!

rgpipio

Yes that's right, it comes out as black dust when you drill into it.

Do you think that this would have any bearing on the nature of the wall... other interior wall is brick.

I think at this point I can assume its not intentionally load bearing... could the joist running along top of the wall be relying on it for support... it doesn't seems likely and maybe it is purely coincidence?

Wookey

Cinder block walls are very common in houses built between the 40's and 60's, they where a cheap way of constructing partition walls at that time in the post war era and lot's of social housing from that time period will have them.

The wall will not be load bearing if it's just built on top of floor joists/floorboards as it is essentially the floor that would be taking the weight, exceptions to that would be if there is a steel or concrete head built into it across its whole length and tied into other walls that are load bearing or possibly if there is trestle walls built in the ground floor void. Any competent builder will be able to advise you when they take a look at it.

rgpipio

Okay, that's all excellent advice, I have enough information to proceed with removing the rads and start planning what I'll do after the wall comes down:j

Doozergirl

Hoploz wrote: »

It's always a good idea to call in a structural engineer, but it isn't obligatory.

I was saying that even a stud wall can't be built on to floorboards, which is what my structural engineer said to me recently in discussions about the work he's doing for me at the moment.

But that isn't true! That's exactly how you build any house, with stud walls built over the joists and floorboards. I can't imagine how many stud walls we've built in existing houses without it ever even being mentioned, it's that run of the mill.

I'm not even sure what you mean by a structural engineer not being obligatory if you think that building control is obligatory when you remove a wall?

Hoploz

Ah well maybe there was a specific reason why my SE said the wall had to be put in line with the floor joist in my situation then.

Le_Kirk

sgsthanh207 wrote: »

Em r!º¥t cám Æ¡n tác gi!º£ vÃ! mong r!º±ng em s!º½ Ä‘Æ°!»£c hi!»ƒu bi!º¿t nhi!»u hÆ¡n n!»¯a qua nh!»¯ng bÃ!i vi!º¿t h!»¯u Ã!ch nÃ!y. Chúc b!º¡n có m!»™t ngÃ!y th!º!t vui v!º».

No, you've lost me! I was OK up to "Em" then all sense just went!

konark

I was doing up an ex- council house from about 1950. The bathroom walls were parallel to joists but they hadn#t even bothered to build them over a joist just built from the floorboard, mid-span.

The walls were made out of some of the worst clinkerblock I've ever seen , they were only 3 inches wide and had the structural integrity of a digestive biscuit; you couldn't drill into them they just crumbled, only the plaster was keeping the wall together.

If yours is similar it isn't holding anything up but itself!

Gastines3

Had this issue when renovating B.in.Ls bathroom in 1950's bungalow. When the bath was taken out the floorboards were rotten in places and on lifting them was surprised to see they ran underneath block wall and not even above a joist. Had to re-tile over existing tiles as any attempt to remove old tiling and the wall would have collapsed. Did suggest removing existing wall and replacing with new stud wall but advice rejected.Have learnt in most cases not to offer advice!!!

rgpipio

This sounds exactly the same as my situation but presumably uses was upstairs, mine is downstairs ground floor.

I think my only concern is... as someone mention the wall could have in some way become load bearing due to shifting...

Now my limited understanding of a structure is that even if this has somehow come to take some load, if this cinder block wall is removed that load would just transfer back to its original "path" with limited issues... presumably the structures are build with a fair tolerance for dealing with load shift (that wouldn't rely upon a cinder block wall)...

I'm going to remove an area of plaster just to verify that it is completely cinderblock beneath (although I think maybe my subconscious is telling me to just start knocking it down :rotfl:)

rgpipio

I removed the skirting board... there was a gap between the wall and the floor... I inserted a pry bar... and was able to lift the wall? only a few mm but still!! I can't quite get my head around how this is possible... presumably the joist and floorboards have settled slightly but the wall has remained anchored to the two perpendicular walls it is attached to.... but that doesn't quite explain how it could go up as I pried it ... "compression" .... or a gap at the top? (FYI i wasn't seeing the floor boards being pried down.. the wall was raising across the span of 5 boards, not the just the one I was prying from)

It is a 3 inches in total, cinder block with plaster over the top.... ITS COMING DOWN:beer: