I want to knock through my kitchen and dining room but it is a supporting wall and I just cannot afford to get somebody in to do the whole job. Can anybody give me any idea if it is possible to knock it out myself and just then have the rsj fitted, and how much this would cost? I'm only a girl but I know you have to use the beams to support it before you start knocking anything down but is there a minimum amount? The wall is about 4 metres wide. ....and do I need to get a structual engineer to take a look first and is this costly? Any advice would be much appreciated
Have you or family friends got any building experiance?Before you knock down a wall you need to know if its supporting.Doesnt have to be a wall the floor joists may be sitting on the wall.You will need building control approval first.As for cost of rsj it varys from thickness of the steel which will be down to the engineer.I have just done on and for a 152x89 16kg was £65 (3.5meter).The 16kg is the weight per meter.
you do need to pay to get calculations done by a structural engineer, then you need to pay your local council to have it checked by a bco. you could not pay them, but if you ever sell the house and it is picked up then it will need to be uncovered and proven to be right. knocing the wall out is the easy bit of the job and you could do it yourself but it wouldnt really save you any cash. first the builder has to turn up and do some work to support whatever the wall is holding up, then he needs to cut out the parts of the wall that the new beam will sit on. then you can start knocing the wall down, which on takes a couple of hours , then the builder comes back, puts the beam in, adds plaster board and plasters it all to a neat finish. So that little bit of knocking the wall out by you will possibly save you £50 as the builder will probably charge you more for messin him about
So I need to get a structural engineer in to check that or just a builder? Will look up building control now and get in touch straight away. That sounds really reasonable, I thought it was going to cost a fortune. Do you then have to pay to have it fitted as well? I know I probably sound like a right divvy but I will check it all out before I start knocking stuff down.
oh I see. So how much should the whole job cost then? Am I looking at hundreds or thousands?...thanks guys, much appreciated
wow...dont know why I would bother messing around then really, thought it would cost much more. Thank you very much for your advice. Going to get in touch with Building Control tomorrow. Thanks again
As a guesstimate to knock out put in rsj plaster board and skim £1000-£1300 oh and the beam must have a 30 min fire protection which is normally 12.5mm board and skim but some councils request fireboard.
You havent said if your in a private house, council house or even a block of flats, if its you own house your ok unless its listed, then seek advise, if its council you will need permission, and if its flats in a block you will need permission even if you own the flat, and engineers calculations, quite expensive, as for lifting a girder 4 meters wide, you are definately having a laugh unless you get a catnick or IG pressed metal and then its still a pain, I sugest you get a builder and you make the tea.
Definitely not one for the DIYer. Its not just the structural calcs for the beam thats required, its also the loadbearing on the padstones, it may also be that with the wall removed lateral restraint is required on the remaining walls. Get a builder involved. If you want to save a few quid do the making good yourself.
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