I have torn down the knee wall now the whole house is thumping

[Nissens]

Haha


Hello!

I'm alive and so is the house... for now...
I have a structural engineer on the way to take a look.
Thanks for the enormous engagement.
It's true, as many have pointed out, that I have a terrible bathroom too in another thread.

The whole thing is that I bought a house that needed renovation.
I've had a pretty large renovation budget and some knowledge, so I've had 3-4 major projects going on all the time that I've completely lost control over... and now that things are starting to "sort themselves out," I'm discovering all the mistakes that have occurred.
So now I'm in deep trouble and need to call and nag about rework.

How did it go with this? What did the structural engineer say? 😊

 

[degi]

Now there have been many posts since I wrote mine, and even though I'm not defending ts action, and yes, I've seen the "drawing," it's still interesting to know what ts has cut away? It's likely major lumber and load-bearing, but at the same time, we don't know. I've worked with older houses myself where the knee walls in individual rooms have not been load-bearing. It might have just been more robust constructions in the center of the house or something. There's no one saying that they consistently had the same [trusses] in all the "roof trusses" just because you see a sectional drawing from the side like that. This is because (depending on the age of the house, of course) they didn't work with loose trusses that they lifted into place; instead, everything was built on-site according to the needs. Now, ts's house doesn't seem very old, but still.
I once tore down a knee wall in a house where it was just a lightweight structure, but against the outer wall and in the room's wall inward to the house, there were posts from above. So nothing was in the way, but it was still visible on the wall. Such a sectional drawing would show load-bearing function.

Hi! Bringing some life back into this again. The knee walls were tongue and groove planks. In the middle of the house is a large chimney that goes through the house.
The structural engineer says everything is okay and the house is supported in another way.

He has suggested a long beam from the ground floor to reduce sound.

 

[Nissens]

Hi! Bringing this to life again. The attic spaces were spontaneously boarded. In the middle of the house is a large chimney that goes through the house.
The engineer says everything is okay and the house is supported in another way.

He has suggested a long beam from the ground floor to reduce the noise.

It would be interesting to know what the other supporting method is. It can't be the chimney.
Did the engineer say anything about what is supporting the house, and why there were attic spaces?

 

[degi]

Would have been interesting to know what the other load-bearing method is. It certainly isn't the chimney.
Did the architect say anything about what supports the house, and why there were attic spaces?

He said that the exterior walls support the roof (the house was built in the '50s, so rather thick walls) and that the construction in the attic ensures the roof trusses are in place. The roof trusses are about cc 80 apart.

 

[Jerry.Lejon]

He said that the outer walls support the roof (house built in the 50s so quite thick walls) and that the construction in the attic ensures that the roof trusses are in place. The roof trusses are set approximately cc 80

Did the constructor suggest a beam under the floor to reduce noise?
That beam then supports the intermediate joist, something the small attic probably helped with before.
That the outer walls support the roof is obvious, it does so regardless of whether there is a small attic or not.

 

[AG A]

He said that the outer walls support the roof (house built in the 50s so pretty thick walls) and that the structure in the attic keeps the trusses in place. The trusses are about cc 80

Was it really a real structural engineer who said that? Of course, the outer walls support the roof. But the knee walls are there for a reason. They stabilize both the roof and the joists. But they also support a part of the trusses. You noticed what happened. Under certain circumstances, it could even collapse.
The chimney can also support a little. However, not at all to the extent that the rumor says. It does not support anything that makes the knee walls less necessary, as they support different things.
Either the engineer is talking nonsense or he just calls himself an engineer but is at most a carpenter or a high school engineer.

 

[Acora]

Tearing down a chimney that goes between rafters, no problem. However, removing support, problem! As they say, you never stop learning, which is fun, but testing and experimenting with load-bearing walls, beams, rafters, and joists... that's not something you just do casually. I much prefer to seek help/assistance from an old fox of a carpenter rather than a newly graduated/inexperienced engineer...

 

[DrDengrot]

Ask another designer.
The one you hired/asked is either incompetent or not a designer at all.
He/she is simply wrong.

 

[heimlaga]

I am trained in timber construction and I am skeptical about that architect...... I haven't seen the house but it sounds strange.

 

[Nissens]

He said the outer walls support the roof (house built in the 50s so quite thick walls) and that the construction in the attic ensures that the rafters are in place. The rafters are about cc 80

Okay, but did he say what the kattvindarna were for?

 

[MagHam]

One should consider that "kattvindar" have a supporting and stabilizing function in old houses. Would never ever tear them down.

 

[Violina]

Every d*mn person here on Byggahus who knows anything about the construction of roof trusses KNOWS that the wall (based on the section drawing) is a load-bearing part of your truss!

I am a designer myself (but work with metal constructions) and I know how often my colleagues are wrong when they think about how forces affect constructions... if you have no clue about it, you can absolutely, as a designer, think that it is correct...

 

[Hybro]

Is it difficult to restore order?

 

[Nissens]

One should consider that kattvindar have a supporting and stabilizing function in old houses. Would never ever tear them down.

They are more than that. They are a load-bearing part of the construction. An important part of the roof trusses.

TS will probably find out next snow-rich winter if nothing else… or the next autumn storm.