Can the upstairs really collapse?

[DorisDoris]

I was thinking about that part too when I first saw the picture, but that would affect the roof's load-bearing capacity more than the floor's.

@DorisDoris. If you can stand on the floor and "sway" without it feeling like everything is wobbling, then it's probably fine. Your drawing shows that there are quite a few walls on the floor below, even if we don't know exactly where this room is located.

If the floor flexes when you "provoke" it, it's primarily a comfort issue, but then it might be worth bringing in a structural engineer to look at reinforcement.
But the fact that the room wasn't insulated from the start shouldn't have affected how the construction was dimensioned, so I think you can be completely calm.

The room is located about there. And no, it doesn't wobble. It's solid.. but it creaks a little in some parts of the floor.
But I've probably been under the impression that the room has been there since day 1. That is, not added on afterward.

 

[Nissens]

I also thought about that part when I first saw the picture, but that would affect the roof's load-bearing capacity more than the floor's.

Yes, the roof suffers the most, but the floor's load-bearing capacity is also affected.

@DorisDoris. If you can stand on the floor and "rock" without it feeling like everything is swaying, then it's probably not a problem. Your drawing shows that there are quite a few walls on the floor below, even though we don't know exactly where this room is located.

If the floor flexes when you "provoke" it, it's primarily a comfort issue, but then it might be worth bringing in a structural engineer to look at reinforcement.
But the fact that the room wasn't insulated from the beginning shouldn't have affected how the structure was dimensioned, so I think you can feel completely at ease.

 

[DorisDoris]

Ok… if this is the picture showing it, then they may have possibly cut into load-bearing parts here.

Or are the kattvindarna still there behind?

You were probably right...the kattvind is not really there on that side. On the other side, they are okay. Tried to take some pictures...don't know if it makes you any wiser....

 

[DorisDoris]

@Dowser4711 added some pictures. ..the kattvinden isn't really there on that side...,😱

 

[Nissens]

@Dowser4711 added some pictures... the kattvinden is not really there on that side...,😱

They seem to have added a beam on the side they cut. Hopefully, it's okay. They must have realized it's load-bearing.

If the floor feels stable, etc., I wouldn't be worried. If you're unsure, check with a konstruktör. It's inspectable. 😊

 

[DorisDoris]

They seem to have added a beam on the side they cut. Hopefully, it's okay. They've realized that those are load-bearing parts.

If the floor feels stable, etc., I wouldn't be worried. If you're unsure, check with a structural engineer. It's inspectable. 😊

It feels stable. No sway or bounce or anything that I can notice. We did have a condition survey...and we talked about converting it into a bedroom. He didn't mention anything about either attic space or weak construction. He did inspect the attic and attic spaces though.

 

[Dowser4711]

@Dowser4711 added some pictures. ..the attic space isn't really there on that side...,😱

Well, it's more like one of the beams has been replaced with a support between two others.
Whether it's properly dimensioned or not, we can't say based on this.
But, as mentioned, it mainly affects the roof, and you say it's original (or at least not recently done), so if the roof hasn't started sagging yet (which should be visible on the beam, which it isn't), then it's probably at least not entirely wrong.

So, relax and enjoy the room instead.

And *if* it does turn out to be some form of under-dimensioning, it won't collapse like in a bad movie, but rather start having issues with a sagging, wobbly floor that you'll notice well in advance before anything happens.

(Provided you don't start collecting safes, grand pianos, or other heavy items in that room)

 

[Anonymiserad 405730]

I don't understand anything about this thread why would the house collapse all of a sudden🤔

 

[Rabbithole]

It looks really stable. No give or sway plus a wall right underneath. You could probably have some safes and pianos there.

 

[Hammarskallen]

As long as no load-bearing walls on the ground floor are removed, there is no chance that floor 2 would collapse.

 

[Troberg]

No...it's about a bed, a TV bench, a small dresser (IKEA's particle board junk), 2 chairs, a TV, and 10-15 moving boxes with some dishes, kitchenware, and the like. No pianos 🫣

I wouldn't worry about that.

Think about it this way, you should easily be able to have ten people in a room at the same time. That's like a ton...

 

[Stefan1972]

Where have you read that it has truly de facto collapsed? I would probably argue that, in that case, it is extremely rare.........Probably just as much risk of getting a plane to the head as the upper floor collapsing.

 

[Alexn72]

Collapse.... hardly.
Before they would collapse, you would get gaps and cracks of many centimeters.

If you've ever tried to demolish a house, you realize that it takes a lot for it to give way.

 

[Eld]

The question is justified. Especially if planning to bring in heavy items like a safe or a piano or a tiled stove or other heavy things.

If the house is not poorly constructed from the beginning, rotten, or improperly renovated, it is completely unjustified. A piano weighs as much as three fully grown men. If the upper floor couldn't support that, then there's a serious fault with the house. Normal snow load in central Sweden is 200kg/m2.

However, if books or other heavy items are stacked from floor to ceiling throughout the room, it's a different matter. It could exceed 2000 kg/m2.

 

[Stefan1972]

Yes, but it's doubtful whether it will collapse for that.......not Swedish houses anyway. It would have to be something modern where everything is calculated and trimmed down to the smallest detail then.