internal wall strength

[adder1969]

Hi, I have a house with an internal load bearing wall that I want to make some modifications to...

Imagine a square with a line going through the middle. This middle line in the internal wall which is a half brick thick wall that supports upstairs floor joists the ends of which rest on it. The wall at one end already has a door and in the middle there is a chimney breast that protudes by a brick length and a brick's width so about 15". I want to remove the chimney breast and open up the existing door way to double doors but I wonder if the chimney is adding any structural support to the wall and whether it'd be ok to remove it. It's keyed in on some courses and not on others. There are no brick walls upstairs so the only load ont he middle wall is the floor and the partition walls.

Here's an ASCII drawing... From this... ______________ | | | door | |_________ \_| | '--' | 7m | chimney | | | |____________|

6m

To this... ______________ | | | | |_______/ \_| | | 7m | | | | |____________|

6m

Anyone think I'll have any problems?

[Lobster]

From the info provided and without seeing it, I'd say it might well be, so, no - personally I wouldn't touch it without getting professional advice.

I don't quite understand what's above this - you say there's no brick wall - what about the chimney breast - or has that already been removed?

Which way do the upper-floor joists run? Perpendicular to the chimney breast? If so you'll probably find that they are keyed into it, so that will need to be dealt with if the chimney breast is removed or the upper floor will come down.

David

[adder1969]

The ASCII drawings are plan. The chimney stack has already been taken down from the top down to first floor level. The joists run up and down when looking at the ASCII i.e. their ends rest on the middle wall. That's perpendicular to the middle wall. The joists aren't keyed into the chimney (as with most chimneys?) The chimney stack is only about 22" wide so sits/sat between two joists.

I think it'll be OK but just have visions of such a thin wall buckling and coming down!

[Lobster]

So you're thinking the chimney breast might be acting as a pier to hold the wall up, and that if the chimney hadn't been there originally, the wall would have been built thicker? Dunno. Possibly?

David

[adder1969]

Precisely, or there might have been a perendicular brick wall to it rather than the partition that is there now. I don't know if there are any regs anywhere as to lengths of walls etc.