Tennentslager Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Head scratching...and I will need to find a suitable professional to confirm but seeking the collective knowledge of the forum first. Been under the floor today and in the loft. Concerned about this single brick wall between kitchen and dining...intend to knock it away for an open plan layout. Floor joists run perpendicular to said wall. Ceiling joists run parallel. Diagram Dwarf wall showing joists on top. The undesired dividing wall is offset 200mm from this. Some pics of the loft. Big purlins but supported every second rafter. The ceiling joists are split and side by side a third of the span and sit above the wall between bathroom and bedroom? Is this not putting a load onto the wall below? What I can't get my head around is that this first floor wall does not have a supporting wall below it? Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 (edited) In the top drawing, do the first floor joists run perpendicular to the walls, or parallel to them? If they are perpendicular, then there's a good chance the wall is load-bearing, if parallel then it's less likely, but still possible, depending on the structure inside the ceiling/first floor space. Edited to add: Sorry, just re-read the post, and seen they are perpendicular, so that wall is almost certainly load bearing.............. Edited February 21, 2017 by JSHarris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 "RSJ" time methinks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 The description in the OP is confusing "Ceiling joists run parallel" Is that the ceiling to the ground floor? It would be more usual for the first floor joists to run perpendicular to the wall, and indeed not be continuous to will be resting on that wall. It was also common in the 1930's to have load bearing walls supported on joists, offset from the load bearing all below. Our 1930's house wa like that and it had deflected the first floor joists, at the time we bought it they surveyor advised the deflection was about as much as could be tolerated and we should consider an RSJ under the wall for additional support. It's not what is goinf on in the loft or under the ground floor that matters, it's what rests on the wall you want to remove. You really need to go upstairs and lift a floor board right next to where that wall is and have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennentslager Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 (edited) 16 minutes ago, ProDave said: It's not what is goinf on in the loft or under the ground floor that matters, it's what rests on the wall you want to remove. You really need to go upstairs and lift a floor board right next to where that wall is and have a look. Was afraid you would say that...that's a handy job for my multi tool Edited February 21, 2017 by Tennentslager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennentslager Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 A bit more clearly... Ground floor joists, perpendicular. First floor, perpendicular. Ceiling/roof, parallel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 6 hours ago, Tennentslager said: A bit more clearly... Ground floor joists, perpendicular. First floor, perpendicular. Ceiling/roof, parallel I would say loadbearing from this, based on those being orientations relative to the wall itself. Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryE Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 A good rule of thumb is that if the joist cross the wall and are resting on it, then its load-bearing, because it is -- bearing a load, that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now