rough cost of knocking inner structural wall...

timmer3

hi folks. i'm looking at buying my first house, one of the terraced houses in drimnagh. the rooms are all smallish and i like open plan, so i would open out the kitchen and dining room into one. The wall is approx 10 feet wide, and solid. it's end of terrace and the wall is well away from the neighbours side. house was built in the 50's. i'm hoping to get the maximum opening possible between the 2 rooms. could someone throw out a wild guess at how much this would cost? and how long it would take to do? i expect this sort of modification is so standard that it doesn't need an architect. from reading on this forum i also gather you generally don't need planning permission. i love wooden beams but wouldn't mind a steel joist plastered over. i can do plastering and painting myself so that might help somewhat.

RKQ

You don't need planning permission to creat an ope/ arch / remove most of a structural internal wall. I would advise you do get Professional help / advice.

Firstly you need to find out if the wall is structural. Check the direction of the floor joists above, ( the floor boards run perpendicular to the floor joists, so lift the carpet and check there direction ). If the floorboards run perpendicular to the wall below, then the wall is likely to support the joists!

A structural wall will need acroprop supports etc during the alterations. It is best done by an experienced Builder under the supervision of a Structural Engineer / Architect etc.

Its not a DIY job.
You will need a few people on site to lift the steel beam into position. A large timber oak beam could be used but it would have to be sized by an Engineer. I would recommend a Steel beam.

timmer3

hi RKQ. thanks for the advice. i was definitely planning on hiring a proper builder for it, although i wasn't planning on getting an architect. surely a good builder will have done so many of these jobs in the same types of houses that they could make a qualified decision on structural integrity etc? i'll be making sure the builder is fully insured all the same! would hate for my upstairs to fall downstairs, that would be a bit too open plan

sydthebeat

RKQ wrote: »

You don't need planning permission to creat an ope/ arch / remove most of a structural internal wall. I would advise you do get Professional help / advice.

Firstly you need to find out if the wall is structural. Check the direction of the floor joists above, ( the floor boards run perpendicular to the floor joists, so lift the carpet and check there direction ). If the floorboards run perpendicular to the wall below, then the wall is likely to support the joists!

A structural wall will need acroprop supports etc during the alterations. It is best done by an experienced Builder under the supervision of a Structural Engineer / Architect etc.

Its not a DIY job.
You will need a few people on site to lift the steel beam into position. A large timber oak beam could be used but it would have to be sized by an Engineer. I would recommend a Steel beam.

I think you mean if the floorboards run parallel to the wall below, then its probably supporting.

regarding costs, theres a huge amount of variables to consider.

RKQ

I did mean if the floorboards run parallel to the wall below, then its probably supporting.
I bought a 200 x 100mm steel beam last week for €175-00, it was 5.700mm long. This will give you an idea of the steel cost. Add cost of hire of 4 acroprops, con-saw, wheelbarrow, skip, two labourers, one blocklayer and one fully insured experienced Builder.
Allow 2 - 3 days to do the work.
Not sure of Dublin day rates etc so can't give an exact cost. How longs a piece of string.... Get at least three quotes to give an idea of average costs.

timmer3

excellent! i thought it would take weeks. if i could get it all done within a week that would be brilliant. i might consider getting them to open out the front room as well while they're at it, hopefully it wouldn't cost twice the price because they'd be all set up with the tool hire and labour etc. the rooms are quite small and and the house suffers from poor light during the day, so if i can open out the kitchen, dining and living room, that is something i would love to get done.

i'll post the cost of the project on this thread if/when it all gets done. i still have to buy the house though...