I live in a 1.5-story Sjödalshus built in 1999 in Huddinge municipality (Stockholm). We are considering taking down interior walls and opening up between the kitchen and living room. Before we start planning this, I need to find out if any of the walls I want to take down are load-bearing.
The picture I took from inside shows what it looks like inside the house. There is a thick "beam" running through the entire house that I assume needs support somewhere on the kitchen wall that is going to be removed?
Grateful for help!
The picture I took from inside shows what it looks like inside the house. There is a thick "beam" running through the entire house that I assume needs support somewhere on the kitchen wall that is going to be removed?
Grateful for help!
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The wall between the kitchen and the dining room is load-bearing and must therefore be replaced with a support beam. Since there is already such a beam between the living room and the entrance area (shown as dotted lines on the floor plan), it is not entirely uncomplicated. First, you need to find out how this beam is installed. Some form of post is certainly needed.
Thank you for the response. I forgot to mention that from the start we assumed we would need a post somewhere in between. But the blue symbol that I have circled in the image below, isn't it a post? If I google the symbol, I find it as "concrete column" (hardly made of concrete in the wooden house but)
It is usually the symbol for a shaft, perhaps a ventilation duct. I interpret the drawing as if the duct continues in the ceiling up to the bedroom. The beam in the opening to the living room can rest either on pillars at each end or on the walls that are in its extension. This must be clarified. The wall between the dining room and living room also seems to be stabilizing. With this information, it is not possible to say exactly how the renovation should be done.
Now it has become a bit clearer with the wall. It turned out that our neighbor did exactly the same thing in their identical houseJ justusandersson said:
The beam at the opening to the living room rests on its own columns. So, the goal is to install your own beam for support when the wall is removed. Also with its own columns. The length of the beam will be about 390cm. With this information, can one say how the beam should be dimensioned?
Since this is a notifiable action, I thought I'd try to submit a notification as soon as possible. In addition to the floor plan and inspection plan, I assume the municipality would want a construction drawing. Is this something the craftsman, whom I haven’t chosen yet, can provide me with, or do I need to hire a structural engineer or similar?
Is there anyone on the forum qualified to make a construction drawing of this? Of course, compensation will be provided. I saw that you @justusandersson are a retired architect, are you interested in helping out?
Kind regards,
Andreas
Best answer
In order to calculate the shrimp to suitable dimensions, a dimensioned floor plan and a similar sectional drawing are needed. Craftsmen normally do not have the expertise required for structural calculation, even if they are certainly good at guessing correctly. I myself am not able to do anything beyond providing general advice on the forum. It's good if the person who will do the calculation can see the house on site.
Andreas, I have sent you a PM.