Hello!
I have read many threads about load-bearing walls, but unfortunately, I have difficulty identifying which walls are load-bearing in this house. I would be very grateful if someone could help me with this.
I have attached the original drawings of the house. According to the seller, a previous owner removed a load-bearing wall (the wall towards the closet in the corner of the living room, not sure how such a wall could be load-bearing?!) and did a replacement there.
We are now considering whether it is possible to open up the wall between the kitchen and the living room. In the middle of the house, there is a chimney and ventilation pipes, which we will not touch.
All tips and interpretations of the drawings are gratefully received!
I have read many threads about load-bearing walls, but unfortunately, I have difficulty identifying which walls are load-bearing in this house. I would be very grateful if someone could help me with this.
I have attached the original drawings of the house. According to the seller, a previous owner removed a load-bearing wall (the wall towards the closet in the corner of the living room, not sure how such a wall could be load-bearing?!) and did a replacement there.
We are now considering whether it is possible to open up the wall between the kitchen and the living room. In the middle of the house, there is a chimney and ventilation pipes, which we will not touch.
All tips and interpretations of the drawings are gratefully received!
As a standard, the walls depicted in the section drawing are load-bearing, and there may also be load-bearing walls around staircases to support the floor structure around the stairwell. However, houses from that period were not built according to any standard; it depends on the direction in which the floor structure lies, meaning which walls serve as support for the floor structure. In houses from that time, it's best to have a structural engineer inspect on site.
Thank you for your response! 🙏 We will definitely ask an engineer to take a look at it. However, we have not yet gained access to the property and therefore wanted to get a preliminary idea about the possibility of opening between the living room and the kitchen. Based solely on the section drawing – how likely is it that the wall between the living room and the kitchen is load-bearing?BirgitS said:
It is possible to open up even load-bearing walls, it just becomes a bit more expensive.
Typically, this type of house seems to not have a large living room but rather two smaller rooms (dining room + living room), and then the wall between them is load-bearing, not the wall between the kitchen and dining room. In your house, there is a missing wall under the roof ridge, and the wall towards the serving corridor and closet has been made load-bearing, which makes me reluctant to assume anything.
Typically, this type of house seems to not have a large living room but rather two smaller rooms (dining room + living room), and then the wall between them is load-bearing, not the wall between the kitchen and dining room. In your house, there is a missing wall under the roof ridge, and the wall towards the serving corridor and closet has been made load-bearing, which makes me reluctant to assume anything.
You're right! According to the seller, a previous owner removed a load-bearing wall (marked in red) and made a structural change. In picture number 2, you can see what it looks like today, after the wall to the wardrobe was removed – that space is now a dining room.
Considering this, we wonder if it is reasonable to believe that the wall between the kitchen and living room is not load-bearing?
