Anyone a structural engineer for home renovations?

T

Theog

Member
 Kent
Afternoon all,

I moved into a house which has rather odd sizes / formats of rooms. To give you an idea, have a look at this very rough floor plan - https://www.dropbox.com/s/1mgwv5f6yjgbvaq/bathrooms.jpg?dl=0

I'm thinking about installing underfloor heating this summer so that will mean taking up a whole load of floorboards etc and I'm thinking whilst I'm at it I may as well try and figure out what to do with the bathrooms. At the moment due to the odd sizes, it makes bathroom 2 and 3 a little impossible to do.

As a result I'm thinking of making bathroom 2 and 3 into one big room, therefore having a nice bath / shower room which is also heated well.

The walls in between bathrooms 2 and 3 are old lath and plaster walls with some timbers going to the ceiling (2 by 4 guesstimating). Above it is a loft.

I'm just wondering if there is anyone who can shed some light as to whether I can remove the walls or not. Or if I need a survey or the likes of to help out. I'm still quite new to the home ownership / DIY side of things, so I maybe missing the picture. That being said the vast majority of the walls in the house are solid brick, so they must be the only ones which aren't brick. The rooms below don't share the same layout other than the solid walls on the outer edges.

What would happen if I were just to remove it without anyone knowing? I have a builder friend that can advise, but he's no structural engineer. Just wondering.

FYI I'm based in Kent.

Best

T
 
Look in the loft space above and see how the joists run, if they are sitting on/across it or more importantly end over this wall, it could mean they are being supported by it. If the joists run parallel with the wall, it's more than likely not a load bearing wall. A good builder should be able to check this out for you.
 
firebobby said:
Look in the loft space above and see how the joists run, if they are sitting on/across it or more importantly end over this wall, it could mean they are being supported by it. If the joists run parallel with the wall, it's more than likely not a load bearing wall. A good builder should be able to check this out for you.
Click to expand...

Ok great thanks for the advice. I will look up their tomorrow. Hopefully all is well!
 
You only need a structural engineer to do calculations if you are taking down a load bearing wall as it will require steels to replace the structure, an obvious test is all load bearing walls are solid (if its an old house most likely all the walls are solid, so not always a guide), also if you do alter/remove a load bearing wall you will need planning permission, if you don't do this you will have real issues when you come to sell, any builder worth his salt will soon realise if it is or not, if its not load bearing you can pull it down no problem, just worth checking before you do, any rafters above it are continuous otherwise your ceiling may well come down
 
meant to mention I am in Kent too, and I have a joinery company for 30 years, so I am in touch with quite a few builders and structural engineers
 
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