Advice on Steels

[Mark Watson]

Howdy

I'm mulling over doing some work at the back of the house. It's 100yr old, and a wall has already been taken down between what was the 'breakfast room' and the kitchen as is often the case with this kind of house.

for a piccie. The idea is that the wall with the 2x doors is knocked down and a steel put in place. The wall between what is now the toilet and the utility room will come down (it's not brick, so obviously isn't supporting).

The sink will move into the karzi, so that we will have a clear bit of space leading to what is currently a back window. This back window will be replaced by a big set of doors that will a) lead out into the conservatory(more of a lean to) and b) get in a lot of light and let us see the garden from the kitchen.

The back window is pictures at

questions are

- any rough estimates on the size of the steel needed to replace the wall, and the likely cost of putting it in? The wall rises up through the first floor (not unsurprisingly) to the loft.

- will I need a steel to go over the doors which will replace the back window, and a guide to the cost?

Thanks in anticipation

mark Watson

[Peter Crosland]

Before you do that you need to check that what you are proposing will be acceptable in principle to building control. Thereason I say this is that the rules on heat loss are much more critical now and you will need to comply with them.

Peter Crosland

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Get a structural engineer in to calculate the loads. Without his figures you'll have problems with the BCO which *will* cost more. IMHO.