Hi,
We are about to take down a wall that divides a kitchen and a breakfast room, and have got builders lined up etc. I've had a look and the joists above the rooms are actually continuous and not joined above the wall that is coming out. However the total span is 7 metres, so obviously we are going to need to put in a steel where the wall used to be. This is an Edwardian house, and the wall that is coming out does not support anything other that the joists above (the interesting thing is the adjacent room has a clear span of 6 meters that is not supported in any way!)
One end of the steel will be on a 12" external wall, the other on a 4" internal so the internal side will need a pier for sure.
Anyway the builder has someone with the software to do the proper beam and padstone calcs, and print them out for the building control people etc. He has however warned me that depending on the council surveyor, they may want to see "pier stress calculations" which he won't have, in which case it could delay everything while we get them sorted using a structural engineer (at my expense).
The builder put me in touch with a firm that can handle all the building reg parts on behalf of the council, and if necessary do the beam, padstone and pier stress calcs. The downside is this will cost me =A3600 vs =A3100 of just going via the council and hoping they don't want pier stress calcs. Obviously I would like to save =A3500 if possible :o)
Can anyone tell me what pier stress calcs are, and what the chances are of the council person wanting to see some?
Cheers,
MH