Staircase partion wall - load bearing?

[niavasha]

Hi All

I have a mid terrace house, of about 1904 construction. Joined sitting/dining room downstairs with a kitchen in a rear gabled projection. Pretty standard london terrace.

The front door and hallway afterwards is on the right hand side of the house as you face the front.

At the end of the hall is staircase going straight up to the first floor.

At the moment the left hand side of the stair case has a wall that is currently covered with lovely pine panelling from the 70s, that I'd like to completely remove, and then make an opening, so that the left hand side of the stairs is open to what was the dining room.

Above the wall is the ballustrade of the landing above.

My builder says this wall, which at the moment doesn't appear to be anything more significant than panelling and maybe some wood inside, is loadbearing/structural, and so does not want to remove it.

I've seen quite a few houses that have had a similar thing done, and can't quite see how the wall could be bearing/structural, but any opinions/advice on what to look for much appreciated!

Thanks Harry

[Rick]

It will likley be holding up the upstairs floor.

Rick

[Set Square]

The wall *could* be supporting the landing! Which way do the landing joists run? Also, the top of the staircase needs to rest on a solid beam of some sort. Does the wall support one end of this beam?

The wall probably provides *some* support to one side of the staircase - and the staircase may flex a bit more without it. But that's less important than the other two points.

[Lobster]

Could well be; eg providing support to the floor above.

I once got involved with fitting a new staircase to a similar house, and the erection of a wall in this position (no more than studwork, like yours) was certainly important to the overall integrity of the structure; in fact the Building Control Officer insisted upon it being there.

I'd say your builder is correct to be cautious; and that if you really want to over-rule him get a structural engineer in for an opinion.

David

[niavasha]

the joists in the house run from side to side, width ways, so thinking about it they are probably sitting on the top of the staircase wall. The stair case rises up and meets the back projection then turns to the left and rises one step to meet the landing. so it's probably sitting on the same beam that is at the top of the wall.

So, if the joists are sitting on top of the wall and the beam is sitting there too, is there any thing i can do to make the hole or am i stuck with a boxed in stair case?

Thanks H

[Rob Morley]

You can probably rejig the support for the landing and stairs, but if you open the stairs to the living area I think you'll need to provide a rear fire escape too.

[Set Square]

You may be able to replace the stud wall with a steel beam, supported on the front and back house walls - but you'll need to get a good structural engineer on the job.

[Christian McArdle]

Even if you manage to overcome the structural issues, you may have problems with fire safety regulations, as you are now not separating the only staircase from habitable rooms. This is particularly troublesome if you have a 3rd storey or ever intend a loft conversion. Basically, you'd have to panel it back in again.

Finally, if you can persuade the BCO to allow you to remove the panelling, then you'll still need a banister that you couldn't get a 10cm ball through. You're not allowed "open plan" staircases where children or people of reduced mobility could fall into the room from a height.

Christian.