Load-bearing wall?

[cy_berg]

Maybe the wrong place in the forum to start this thread, but I'm not really sure where it belongs...

My partner and I have finally taken possession of our house, an old Skånelänga with half-timbered/brick from around 1830, so now the renovation work begins

I should start by adding that I will NOT demolish any wall in the house without having some form of professional on-site first to make an assessment, so the following question is more out of curiosity: I wonder if there are interior walls in old Skånelänga that are actually load-bearing? I have read somewhere that Skånelänga were made in the size they were because it was the largest size of house that could be built at that time with a roof structure that is self-supporting; which could be interpreted as meaning that no interior walls are load-bearing, does anyone know anything about this? Our house is 25 meters long and 6.5 meters wide, I can add...
/Kristian

 

[Immobil]

I wonder if there are interior walls in old Skånelängor that are actually load-bearing?

I don't think so. In this case, it would be interesting to know what the lower part of the roof trusses looks like?

It's been a few years since I was in the attic of such a building. But, if the lower part of the truss is in one piece, it should mean that the roof is supported by the outer walls.

 

[cy_berg]

Thanks for the answer!
When you say the lower part of the truss, I assume you mean the beams that are visible in the ceiling on the entrance floor (I’m not so familiar with all the terms yet : )? If so, the answer is 'yes', these are in one piece, and that's what I've heard would be the reason why some interior walls are not load-bearing, as the beams rest on the outer walls, which themselves become load-bearing. Does anyone have any other opinions on this (or construction/materials in timber-framed houses in general)?

 

[Immobil]

When you say the lower part of the truss, I assume you mean the beams that are visible in the ceiling on the entrance level (I'm not so familiar with all the terms yet : )? If so, the answer is 'yes', these are in one piece, and that is what I've heard would be the reason that some interior walls are not load-bearing, because the beams rest on the exterior walls which in turn become load-bearing.

8) Exactly, and the span is not that large (6.5 m). These beams have, among other things, the function of holding the trusses together so that they don't tend to slide apart.

 

[cy_berg]

Hm...sounds logical, that the tie beams hold the rafters together But maybe you can answer one more thing while we're talking about rafters: The attic is currently unfinished, but we plan to finish it in the foreseeable future. The problem is that the han-bjälkarna are quite low; low enough that we will have to move them up, and the question is: If we raise the han-bjälkarna by half a meter or so (that is, cut them at one end so that you can slide them further up), do we need to install braces (or whatever they might be called) that attach on one end to the rafter and on the other end to the beams that hold the rafter together?

 

[Immobil]

If we raise the han-bjälkarna by half a meter or so (i.e., cut them at one end so that you can push them up further), do you need to install braces (or whatever they're called) that in one side attach to the roof truss and on the other end attach to the beams that hold the roof truss together?

Place a temporary hanbjälke under the one that is to be moved up. However, now we're getting into sensitive matters like load-bearing capacity and so on.

Therefore, I recommend that you consult a structural engineer to see if such an elevation is possible.

 

[cy_berg]

Yep, we will be calling in a construction company soon to plan various work, so I'll check if they can explain more precisely how it could be done specifically with our house...lots of technical stuff ;D

 

[TN]

Make sure to hire a company with knowledge of old houses, so they don't just start with "this is how we always do it" as it can cause a lot of damage in old houses....

 

[cy_berg]

TN: Thanks for the tip, I completely agree with you! The company we are in contact with has done work on the houses around us that are from the same era, so I hope that ensures good knowledge. As you say, special knowledge about old houses is required; there can be problems using too many modern methods on old houses.