Bladders

Hi everyone. I thought I'd give an update and take the opportunity for to thank everyone for their input. It gave me the confidence to get this job done and gave me some extra pointers to think about that I hadnt considered. So, both the RSJs are up, I used a bunch of strong boys to support the former outer leaf and props with planks to support the joists in the kitchen. Everything went smoothly after a bit of thought about the order of propping one side, getting RSJs into the room, strongboys on the other side etc. I have taken the walls under the new RSJs down to the DPc at floor level but would like to ask about what the best plan is for closing the cavities on both sides. I've seen these cavity closers but wanted your input first. Let me know if pics would help. Cheers,

Just making sure, in addition to having an engineer draw up the calculations after assessing the wall, do I also need to involve local Building Control?

Morning all, Just wanted to say thanks for all the input so far just in case it wasnt clear. I worked as a building labourer / apprentice for a good few years (about 30 years ago) so I have some capability but by no means an experienced builder (or what the up to date techniques are etc) so this site, and your help, has been invaluable. Can I ask about acrow jack spacing with strong boys? Whats the rule of thumb? Every meter for my application?

I have searched about to see if you can substitute padstones for steel reinforced lintels and I couldn't find anything definite. This would be useful as I will be removing 2 such lintels from the single doorway that is already present. Regarding needling through. Yeah I've considered this but the RSJs need to go hard up to as close the the existing ceiling as possible so the needles would be in the way of where the RSJ will need to be. Thanks all for your useful insights.

Hi Mark, I'm hoping the same thing. I could be wrong about the inside blocks but they do look very similar to celcon. The house was built in lat 1990s so I dont know what the regs were at the time. Didn't consider the cold bridge. Both sides of the Pad Stone will still be inside the house rather than one face being outside and bridging through. There are 2 RSJ, one to support each course and thanks for confirming the position with the brickwork - strong boys it is! Cheers,

Hi everyone, This is my first post. I've had a scan around to see if my question has been answered already, but it doesnt look like it has - apologies if thats not the case. I'm opening my kitchen into an extension that the previous owners built on the side of the house. They left the old door opening which now enters into the new room rather than the garden that used to be present. I'm removing a 3 meter section of this wall to run the kitchen through. I have had a Structural Engineer produce calculations for the RSJs to go in and they've been delivered. The wall that I'm opening up used to be the outside wall and runs right up to the gable end. It's conventional house brick outer course with celcon on inside course. The kitchen ceiling joists are supported by this inside wall resting actually on the celcon rather than joist hangers) and I have acrow props to take the load off until the inside steel goes in. My question is about removing bricks from the former outside wall. Do I have to use strong boy attachments to acrow props to take the load of the wall above where the outer RSJ will go or is there a certain amount I can remove before it looses it strength? I need to remove 3 courses, but over 3 meters. Regarding the pad stones. These weren't mentioned in the calcs but are you able to use one large pad stone per end to bridge the cavity or will I have to buy 4 smaller ones (150mm min bearing and a width of 4 inches to match the brick / celcon course) which is 2 per RSJ. Other than pad stones, would engineering bricks also do? If I've missed any vital info, or you need anything else in order to help then please let me know. I can upload the drawings if they would help.