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Carpentry & Joinery
Removal of a first floor stud wall
Anonymous user 28 February 2024 - 2.33 PM
I wish to remove a stud wall separating 2 bedrooms on the first floor of our house. The wall runs parallel with the joists in the attic above, anhd there is not a wall directly below it on the ground floor.
I have removed the plasterboard on one wall and the frame appears to be all timber, and no different sized timber or other supports used used.
Could anyone please tell me if this indicates that the wall is definitely not load bearing, and can therefore be safely removed?
Thanks.
Thank you very much to all who answered. I have decided to err on the side of caution and get a second opinion from a surveyor, but from the advice given, it looks like it is not a supporting wall.
Thanks again,
Terry.
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hi Terry_74
Sounds like its not load bearing from what your saying! And you have joists running with the dividing wall and not across as this would/could be supporting the joists above.
Also as you say you have no wall below to support the wall in question" Unless you have a steel lintol directly under it".
Are there any heavy load bearing timbers supporoting the roof directly above or fixed to the wall though?
If in doubt have a Building Surveyor/Structural Surveyor have a look.
Good luck.
Scott Cannon.
Answered30 May 2011
5
Anonymous user
Hi. Your stud wall is not a load barring wall. The fact that joists run along the loft below your bedroom supports the ceiling. Just bare this in mind when removing framework. You will find there's a batten fixed to the joists, when you remove this, plasterboard will need to replace void left by it. You may need ceiling skimming. Hope this helps you. Mark
Answered30 May 2011
5
Anonymous user
have you tried looking at next doors might be a cheap answer
Answered30 May 2011
5
Anonymous user
is there a door in the wall ? is there any gaps above or under the wall ?
Answered30 May 2011
4
Anonymous user
is it a traditional roof or truss
in the loft is there any timber hangers nearby attached to the joist.
a truss roof will have loads of triangles init with no hangers
http://www.honestabe.com/homecenter/images/cutaways/TRUSS-ROOF.png
and a traditional roof will seem to be spacious with hangers
http://www.jsengineeringdesign.co.uk/1d1.gif
if either of the 2 you can remove the stud.
Answered2 June 2011
4
Anonymous user
Hi Terry,
If in doubt dont take it out! No one can safely give you the correct advise without having a proper look at your site requirements.
A stud wall is generally not load bearing but it can be supporting ceiling joist span from flexing/ & or joist cross over point on joists.
You have to get someone to inspect & check it first.
Hope this helps?
Graham
Answered30 May 2011
3
Anonymous user
stud walls in general are not load bearing
Answered30 May 2011
3
Anonymous user
If your partition wall runs parallel with your roof joists then its not load bearing.
Hope this helps
Answered30 May 2011
3
Anonymous user
put a hard hat on, belt the studs out and hope for the best. Or get a structural engineer to take a look.
hi there
the best way to tell if your wall is load bearing, measure how far away the wall is from your outside house(wall). take these measurements up into your loft, set these out with your tape. now you know where your 1st floor wall is and what if anything is sitting on it.
if there is you may need a builder round or even a structural engineer.
hope this helps
thanks russell
MTR LOFTS
Answered30 May 2011
2
Anonymous user
Hello. It sounds from your discription that the stud wall is purely a partition wall wall and not load bearing, so therefore should be able to remove.
