Can I knock this down?

[Stephen Gower]

This time last year, we had a combi-boiler fitted, which made redundant the hot water cylinder. The previous owner had decommissioned the hot-air heating system some time before. What was the hot-air cupboard sticks out into the main bedroom, and the cylinder cupboard is too deep and sticks out into the hall. I'd like to knock down part of each of those cupboards to make them a bit more like alcoves in the rooms.

The walls throughout the flat are concrete blocks, 10cm thick. The section I want to remove from the bedroom is 35cm long - the rest of the cupboard was formed from asbestos-backed plywood and has already been removed. The section to remove from the hallway is more complicated - it's a wall about 60cm long, and a doorway which completes the cupboard (the section above the door is also block).

We're on the ground floor, there's only one other flat above us and that has the same floorplan as us currently. Our ceiling/their floor is concrete.

I'm assuming these small sections of wall are not load bearing, but is this right? All the DIY guides I have seen talk about floor joists above, but of course there aren't any! How do I check in this situation? I've knocked out a sample hole about the size of a housebrick, which shows the metalwork in the reinforced concrete above, but what might I be looking for? Some photos of the cupboard and hole are online at

Finally, to do a neat job, I think I need to cut a vertical line through the blocks before I knock them out of the wall. Does this make sense, should I be hiring something to do this (if so, what) or should I just drill lots with my SDS drill?

Many thanks as ever to all who contribute to this excellent group, and sorry I'm so longwinded in my questions!

[Paul King]

You don't really need to ask do you? You need to do your homework and decide upon the results of that. How on earth you can expect to get qualified results from an NG without someone advocating "go on then - knock it down" beggars belief! If you are unsure as to how to proceed, either entrust a qualified structural engineer (and pay) or "just knock it down" - and run (perhaps). Personally, I'd look *VERY* carefully at where the relevant weight distributions were (both upstairs and down). The ceiling is probably sufficiently loadbearing (providing that this is not the only loadbearing support), but in the end - its your call.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sounds like it was built like this, so I'd assume nothing. Get pro advice

- a structural engineer.

[Stephen Gower]

Thanks for the advice, I'll take it on board.

I quite agree, but it doesn't hurt to take advice from as many people as possible, and weigh it all up based on who they are and under what circumstances they've given the advice. I perhaps should have said, but assumed it was obvious, that this isn't the only place I'm asking, but it might help backup the advice I get from other sources.

[Stephen Gower]

Thanks for that - it looks like the same advice (in one way or the other) from all directions. Having never done this before, and to make sure I don't get ripped off, what sort of ball-park figure should I expect to pay for this advice?

[Al Reynolds]

Depends on whether you want it written down or not.

I had a beam that I wanted to remove that I was fairly sure wasn't loadbearing, but I wanted a professional opinion. I had been given a recommendation for a structural engineer, so I gave them a ring and asked them how much to come and give a decision on whether the beam could be removed. He said he could either answer my question verbally with no paperwork for £30 or he could do a full written report backed by insurance etc. for £150. I went for the verbal report, because all I really wanted was a second opinion from a professional.

In my case there were no building regs implications because the beam was essentially "decorative" - you might find in your case that the wall can be taken down, but with certain structural implications, in which case building regs may come into play. In this case I would go for the written report as you would probably need it later.

HTH, Al