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Single skin coal shed with concrete slab roof- internal wall removed

Anonymous user 27/05/2025 - 8.44 AM

Hello, I have a brick outbuilding (single skin) immediately to the side/behind our house. Mine and our neighbour's outbuildings are connected. It has a concrete slab roof (I think concrete lintels laid side by side then topped with concrete poured on top and dry coated with bitumen tarp). House built in 1950s. The concrete slab has a lean to that connects to above my back door (and does the same on the neighbour's side too). The outbuilding itself has two doors and originally a smaller section of it was used to store coal (you can see the staining on the brickwork in that section). There was a small wall in this corner which kept the coal in one section and left a larger area of the building. The previous owner has removed this wall. You can see where it was on the brickwork and also on the concrete floor. There is electricity and water in the outbuilding. I would like to insulate it, put plasterboard, plaster and paint and put some flooring down in order to make it a more usable space or perhaps have it as as an office. However, I am wondering whether when the small wall that confined the coal store area was removed, there should have been additional supports put in place on account of the weight of the concrete wall? Or with these constructions is the weight of the roof evenly distributed across the four walls of the building?

Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?

1 Answer

Rainbow Construction

Rating: 4.8 out of 5
Tooting, London
Same as above: the load is usually carried by the main external walls, not the coal-store divider. So it’s unlikely that wall was structural. That said, since you’re planning to invest in finishing the space, getting a professional opinion for peace of mind is a smart step.
Answered18 August 2025
0