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Load bearing wall?
Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 3.59 PM
My house is 1970s. My neighbour has joined 2 bedrooms with an arch opening through the separating wall. The wall sounds hollow and is very thin about 3’’. He has a joiner do it who just cut through it with a saw. I want to do the same but want to be sure the wall is not load bearing. There is no wall below underneath this wall. Above in the loft the beams are perpendicular though. Is is safe for me to cut a door size opening? I was going to fit a wood frame as support.
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3 Answers
CT Construction and Management Ltd
Rating: 5 out of 5
Irregardless get a structural survey done
Answered14 April 2021
6
Radnor Repairs
No reviews yet
A good indication of a non load bearing wall [NLBW] is..
Was it built AFTER the ceiling was plasterboard, common practice in the 70s. (and now)
look in the loft directly above the wall in question, if the plasterboard is continuous over the wall, )And there is no water storage tank or similar above it, that usually means it is a NLBW
if there is wall plate or the top of the timber Wallis visible then it is probably load bearing.
Just because there is not a wall below it does not mean it is a NLBW, the bedroom wall could be built on roof a timber or steel beam located within the floor void
Answered15 April 2021
0
R Barreto
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
If the wall is just plasterboard attached to a timber frame work (Stud Wall) it is extremely unlikely that it is load bearing. (however I have come across one case where it was supporting a small pitched roof).
If it is 3inch brick work then it might be loadbearing and a surveyor would be necessary. If it is 3inch brickwork and NOT load bearing it was done that way for fire regs as a Fire wall, consult surveyor.
Answered26 April 2021
0