drphil

[drphil]

Hi, just bought a house and have decided to join the home renovators virgin club. Need as much help as i can get and found this great website which looks very helpful. Please can anyone help me with how to successfully remove a load bearing wall ? I consider myself moderately handy and take on instruction well. I also need to replace bathroom and kitchen, so you'll probably hear from me again,
thankyou

[vsquizz]

Welcome DrPhil. I am definetly not an expert in this matter but if you have read this thread;
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=10279
Then get a few low res general photos in so the guys and girls can give you their best shot. Its a pretty tough question to handle in a forum like this as every job you tackle in renovating presents all sorts of variables like the construction type etc. You don't mention wether its a brick wall or stud frame etc. Perhaps a title on the Thread will help too.

Best of Luck

[journeyman Mick]

DrPhil,
I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I have done a bit of this professionally. Basically I wouldn't consider touching anyone's job without an engineered drawing nowadays. In times gone past you could cut largish openings in a load bearing wall using the various framing manuals as a guide to member sizes but if it's a whole wall you're talking about you will definitely need to get an engineer involved, even if you end up getting someone else to do the work.

Mick

[drphil]

thankyou for responding so quickly. Sorry for providing no information. The wall is timber stud, I need to remove half of it up to a doorway, leaving the other half standing. Do you think I should pay for a builder? just not sure of the cost of this type of job and wonder if the budget will allow. Starting to think Im crazy to contemplate removal myself. Thanks vsquizz for your thread link much appreciated.
drphil

[silentC]

drphil,

What type of roof does the house have? How do you know it's a load-bearing wall?

If you're uncertain about it, you should at least get a licensed builder in to give you an estimate. It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive job, especially if you get someone to do the structural side and do the plastering and painting yourself.

[bitingmidge]

drphil,

Reread Mick's post above. Find an engineer who works in residential stuff...you can usually find them in the yellow pages, working from home(!). There are just too many variables to give advice, and you would need to be sure that the builder you were talking to really knew his stuff.

It's either a simple job or it's not...no in between!

Cheers,

P

[seriph1]

FWIW, removing an entire wall often doesnt produce the desired result - what is it you are trying to achieve by the wall's removal? More space is usually the answer and this often doesnt have to mean removal right up to the ceiling - leaving a bulkhead addresses the space issues, provides a spot for load bearing elements without using a hanging beam in the roof space, and finally gives opportunity (if you wanted it) to apply some decorative brackets, corbels, etc to give the area a higher level of "finish" ..... depending on the period of home and overall "look" youre aiming for.