Thread: Permit for removing wall, or not?

I'm probably late into the post but . . . .
Most projects such as what you're describing can be detailed by a competant 'building Designer'.
Murpheys first law [sec.3 / buil/stat7] states, 'get it designed first & then get prices.'

Originally Posted by ausdesign

I'm probably late into the post but . . . .
Most projects such as what you're describing can be detailed by a competant 'building Designer'.
Murpheys first law [sec.3 / buil/stat7] states, 'get it designed first & then get prices.'

no you're not too late, I havent done anything yet! I like your advice though.

Cheers

Nothing about removing that sort of wall sounds overly complicated. What the builder has proposed sounds pretty much correct. Splaying the upper corner of timber or steel beams is common practise. I dont think you need go all the way and get an engineer to draw something up - a competant builder should be able to handle a job like that very easily.

Righto,

The information provided so far is pretty much on target.

As a Building Surveyor, who has worked in both private practice and currently for a local council, I come across these sorts of questions on a regular basis. So just to provide some clarification a few points.

1. Any and all structural alterations regardless of size of the project technically require approval, either through your local council or a "private certifier". This should be a straight forward process and the benefits are, peace of mind from using a licensed builder and having the work approved & inspected; you can sleep comfortably knowing that nothing should ever go wrong. You need to be careful as if the work is carried out without approval (where it is required) you may run into difficulty when selling the house as a prospective purchaser may decide to negotiate with you to have the building works approved retrospectively which will be much more expensive and possibly invasive. i.e. if roof sheeting or ceiling linings need to be removed to inspect the work, or they may ask rightfully for a reduction in the price of the home for them taking on the liability.

Worst case scenario is that if something did go wrong, structural failure or fire then your insurance company instantly have get out of jail free card... I have heard of this happening where they have refused a payout because the owner undertook some Reno’s themselves, including structural & electrical; a fire happened in a another part of the house, yet the insurance company refused to payout, saying that the cause could be traced to the illegal building work.

2. The Alterations mentioned sound to be quite minor, just ensure that the frame work if timber is designed in accordance with the residential timber frame code AS1684.2. The timber frame you mentioned can be reduced (cut on an angle) in order to not obstruct the roof cladding provided if it is a hanging beam etc not more than 2/3rds without extra support. If it is a strutting beam i.e. supporting the roof then it is quite common to use laminated beams and these may only be cut so as to leave minimum of D3 or 100mm

The other thing to bear in mind is that if you have a steel framed house then you must get Any alterations designed by an engineer, as there are no available span tables for steel framing. This is due to most steel frame house builders using different steel profiles, generally they buy the steel in flat rolls and set up their own die and roll out their frame members.

<O3. From what you’re proposing I would doubt that the council would be able to force you to install a rainwater tank, generally you would need to be increasing the actual floor area of the dwelling in SA it’s 50m2, but that said councils do have a habit of doing things different to one another and SA is right up there with being different.</O
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<O4. With regard to the bracing issue, it is recommended that if bracing is removed then it really should be provided for elsewhere, this is particularly important if you live in an area which is not built up and or very windy. An internal wall will may be a braced wall if it is at right angles and running into/butting up against the external wall. Your builder should be able to tell you if this is the case, also some bracing is nominal i.e. put in place when the house is being built to square up the walls, and while this bracing does provide resistance to wind loading it should be OK to remove, provided you haven’t already opened up the rest of the house to an open plan design.</O
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I probably have just reiterated what others have said, but there you go.

Give me a shout if you need further clarification on anything.

Cheers</O

Apologies for hijacking this thread, but a quick question for monkeyrelish.

I'm doing a bathroom reno, and as part of that I'll be removing a 2m section of (non load bearing) wall. When I rang a draftsman a while back, with the intention of getting plans drawn up for a permit, he told me that I wouldn't need one.

Before I get stuck into it, I'd like to get some other opinions on the matter.

Hi atregent,

It's been about 10years since I last worked in VIC, so things may have changed.

But the general rule in your instance is that approval is not required, provided all plumbing/electrical work is carried out by licensed persons. This is the case if you are replacing an existing bathroom with a new one, most Building Acts will state that any building work replacing like for like does not require approval.

I would however check with your local council because if VIC has introduced legislation as they have here in SA then approval should be sought for the new bathroom (due to creating a larger b/room) in accordance with the SA Ministers specification on wet area's. This may sound a little pedantic and in some ways it is, however for the nominal cost of seeking approval all boxes are ticked and you can rest easy and avoid any issues as mentioned in my previous post.

Unfortunately however most councils around the country have a terrible reputation due to the length of time it takes to get approval, and as someone who has seen pretty much everything first hand it frustrates me that a better service is not provided on the whole, but i digress..


I just had a chat with a mate in Melbourne, and it appears that not too much has changed. Any building works that is non-structural and valued less than $12,000 doe not require approval.

But one further thing to bear in mind is that any Plumbing/Electrical works valued greater $500 (including materials & labour) must be registered and a compliance certificate issued.

Thanks monkeyrelish, I guess the draftsman I spoke to was on the money (which I kind of assumed he would be)

I'll hand the thread back to it's original owner now...