Hi! To save space and make the children's room a bit more fun, I'm thinking of building a bunk bed inside an old wardrobe. It will be painted in a Little Anna and the Long Uncle theme, with Ghost Laban too.
The question, however, is whether the wall is load-bearing or not, or if it's just a case of tearing down the small wall! I've attached pictures, see the red markings.
I have another question too, do you think I can remove the door frame from the vestibule to the hallway? I don't have a door there anymore and want to get rid of what's "sticking out"
As for the wall, it is likely load-bearing since the room's floor beams must rest on this wall before the stairs come. It should still be relatively easy to solve with a small beam, as it involves only a few floor beams.
Okay Had hoped it would be a bit easier. How on earth do we proceed now then? How do we "beam" up the construction?
It's not too difficult. If you can build a bunk bed, you can handle this. It's about maybe 2 meters you need a beam? An engineer could of course calculate it, but the simplest way is probably to over-dimension a bit. A 45x 220 will certainly suffice. However, you need to secure it properly to the outer wall and the inner wall next to the stairs. A simple solution against the outer wall is a column that is screwed into the inner side of the outer wall. You'll also need to borrow/rent a couple of props.
Tried to sketch a little how the floor joists probably lie. If you remove the wall, some of these will fall down over you or sit heavily (can be held up temporarily by the plank floor and subfloor).
To demolish, support at the blue circle, place a strong joist on the floor, place a prop (google it if you don’t know what it is) and a strong joist against the ceiling. This creates a temporary wall that takes the load. It should probably be done inside the closet as well, in case the short floor joists exist (we don't know, but this spot probably tempted the builders to get rid of some scraps right here, thereby saving on the long joists' length).
Now you can demolish the door and wall. Replace it with a strong beam, given enough support to the right and left of the entrance. Easiest with pillars (nailed joists work well), to save space you can try to embed them in the outer wall and the wall to the right. The beam should provide the same support as the wall did before.
When you're done, carefully remove the prop while constantly keeping an eye on any worrying movements...
Sometimes the beam is hidden with an arch if one thinks it's nice...
Addition: ensure that any columns receive sufficient support at the bottom. It is not adequate to place these on the upper floor; instead, go down into the joist layer and seek the next wall/beam below. Alternatively, a beam in the joist layer must be constructed to bear the loads.
The next question is, naturally, whether it's worth all the work.
According to Niklas Jonsson's description, it sounds quite cumbersome.
How big is the wardrobe? I would guess 1.2 - 1.3 meters.
How big are the children?
Yes, I know they grow. And before you know it, they no longer fit in the wardrobe.
Why not simply use the wardrobe for the children's clothes and stuff?
(where else should the clothes be?).
And build a bunk bed in the room instead.
Niclas, thanks for the answer and the detailed description! I feel like I need to read and study this more!
KnockOnWood, the thought has crossed my mind. Over and over again. I guess I haven't really made up my mind. The clothes are no problem; you can buy a standalone wardrobe... Initially, I thought I would make it easy for myself and buy an IKEA bunk bed and then transform it into a "house" in Laban style. But it would take up so much play space... We don't have the biggest house exactly...
