I want to remove the wall between my kitchen and dinning room. I had a structural engineer around today and he said it all seems very simple. It will need an rsj put in (which i was expecting). The only problem I have now thought of is the supports for the rsj. One side will be supported by the remains of the existing wall which is fine. However the other side the support needs to go into what is now a doorway with wooden floors. What will I need to do to fit this support correctly. Really should of asked the structural engineer but only just thought of it.
brick will take the compressive forces in a column against some wall to prevent buckling: The greater problem seems to be eh wood floor which it cant be built upon..remove floor and dig down until something solid appears? or build a nice concrete foundation under..?.
Possibly a 70x70 or 80x80 square steel hollow section, at the bottom with a steel baseplate on a concrete base - your engineer would need to determine the required size. Wrap with expanded metal and plaster to give the required fire resistance. Alternatively, if the load is not too great a 100x100 timber post might be suitable.
Thanks for the replies. So I think i have to take up the floorboards and check if there is anything below them that will support either a brick or steel support pillar. If there isn't I will ask a builder for advice but will it create a lot of work as money is an issue
Yes surprised he didn't mention it!. Prolly a brick pier topped by a course of engineering bricks and acrow props while you put the joist in place but it needs fire proofing etc. Better ask him to design it for you...
On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:00:16 -0700, jimmyjim wibbled:
If you are really lucky, there may be a foundation for a wall there (if the original builders ran foundation strips all the way around all the main walls without regard for doorways.
Otherwise it's probably a concrete block in the ground and build off that. Think 1m2 access through the floor plus/minus...
I would take the boards up in the immediate area where the column would need to go, clean it out, invite the engineer back (if you need an engineer for the RSJ, you need him for the support).
If there were a foundation strip there, the question is: "Is it strong enough to take this load?". Otherwise have him specify in writing what is required (depth and breadth of concrete, type of concrete - eg C20,C24 etc
- never leave it to the builders...).
In either case, you can then ask him what the options for columns are then get him to write the specification for that.
Another approach is ask him if there are any alternatives, eg a perpendicular RSJ supported by other walls with the original RSJ fixed to it. Might be cheaper *if* it is practical, although it might need the RSJ made up specially with bolting plates welded on in the right places.
Remove the lintel over the door and replace with a suitable steel lintel, place your new rsj on top of this, this is assuming the doorway is staying in? - if it isn't, you'll have to brick it up, in which case, rest your rsj on this.
I was just reading your post from 2010 about supporting one of the ends o f the RSJ you were planning to install. You mentioned that at one end of th e wall being removed was a doorway which left nothing for the steel to sit on. I have exactly the same problem and was wondering what your solution wa s?
A friend of mine had similar situation and the solution was to place a RSJ across the door opening and the unsupported end of the other RSJ at right angle was simply bolted to it with angle iron sections.
If I run the steel from the external wall to where the door finishes, the s teel will be sitting on a single column of bricks which separate the doors to the living room and dining room. I'm not sure that the single column of brick is up to the task of picking up the steel plus the load put on top of that. Is there a way of posting photos on here? It would be easier to show you with a photo. Picture 2 doors side by side, one to the lounge and one to the dining room. The doors are separated by the length of one whole bric k. I want to remove the dining room door way, and the wall running between the kitchen and dining room. The wall picks up the floor to the bathroom, a nd the upstairs landing. I'm pretty sure I either need to build a pier and tie it into the single column of brick or install a steel column to pick up the end of the steel. I was just wondering how the original poster got aro und it.
for the 'photos - and if the pier is more than around 9" in width, of sound construction and properly tied in, then you *should* be ok - even better if it could be of two bricks thick (9").
Seen this done in a friends house. It required a steel down the pier, going into underpinning to take the extra weight at that point on the foundations. In another case, it didn't need the underpinning because the wall continued another 3 feet below the floor before reaching the foundations, which was enough to spread the load and not exceed the capability of the foundations, but still needed the vertical steel (or he could have opted to keep more of the original wall, which he didn't want to do).
Contacting a Structural engineer is my next port of call. Just wanted to kn ow what solution the original poster went with. I can see the SE asking for new footings and a new pier tied into the existing wall.
As for my steel size. I contacted a SE with room, sizes, room uses, joist d irections, roof support locations and with what I was planning to do. He ca lculated the steel based on the info I gave him but he was unaware of the p roblem I've since encountered re the pier.
There are various ways of supporting a steel beam: Cleats, a smaller beam bolted to the wall under the one which need support, hangers, and possibly a few others which don't come to mind just now.
Just checking I understand this. You have a long supporting wall with 2 doors in it, between the 2 doors is another wall at a right angle (the 2 walls form a T shape). You want to remove everything to one side of the central wall. If I have correctly understood that, how about running your new steel right over the remaining door so it is resting on the dividing wall and the wall the other side of the door.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.