At some point I am looking to refurbish my downstair shower room, due to space it is possible to make it bigger by taking away a plasterboard wall and siting it 3 feet further along. Is there a way to determine if it is just a standard partition wall or possibly a supporting wall (which I doubt) I dont (if possible) wish to apply to the council for plans etc as there is possibly work done that hasnt been applied for. (I am newish owner and some of the DIY previous work is rather shoddy) Also in theory if i did this enlargement should I have planning permission? To be simplistic I would just be moving a plasterboard partition wall about 3 feet.
Anything else I should consider, legally or technically.
On Tuesday 12 February 2013 22:31 ss wrote in uk.d-i-y:
I don't think there's any planning issue unless you're in a listed building (even then, it's the Conservation Officer who will have a say - but same principle).
Building Control are the ones who will be interested *if* it is a structural alteration or if it has a material impact on a key area nearby, eg blocks a fire escape route or makes a natural hazard worse. On many councils these guys are often very helpful - if you contact your area guy, he may be willing to have a preliminary look when he's in the area on another job (which will probably be frequently). I very much doubt he will give a crap about anything else there unless he spots something outrageously dangerous. If you invite them around for advice, they know you are trying to do the right thing and are not usually out to get you. YMMV.
Good etiquette here is tea and nice biscuits. Helps with the YMMV aspect too :)
Now, as to it being structural or not:
It probably isn't if it's a stud wall, but it *might* be.
Symmetry is a clue. If it's running parallel with the joists above, it probably isn't load bearing *unless* it supports another wall above it.
If it is running perpendicular to the joists, it might be load bearing. But if it appears to support some of the joists above, but there's no other wall supporting the rest of the joists at a similar span, then perhaps it's not.
Can you do a diagram and maybe a piccie or two and stick them on flickr (etc) and post a link here?
On Wednesday 13 February 2013 09:22 ss wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Nice diagram...
Personally (and you should wait to hear some other opinion):
Just one thing to check - is there a wall on top of the existing wall (I suspect not, it's a landing area isn't it?).
Other than that:
I can see no problems with moving that and no need to involve the council on any level, with the one exception that it is a special location with respect to the wiring regulations, so doing anything with the electrics is technically notifiable to Building Control under Part P - but that's up to you. They won't actually give a damn unless you do something incompetantly, or you actively involve them. Are you doing anything to the electrics?
From the diagram, it is clear that it is not holding the joists up (that's probably the centre wall, right side of the hall, going top to bottom of the diagram that's doing that, as wells as the left and right exterior walls obviously. The kitchen right hand wall might be helping, inadvertantly, but even that is probably optional, if your diagram is to scale).
It's also seems, from what I can see that moving the wall will make *no* difference to access or escape routes to anything else.
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