Hello,
Basement, house from '36, need to widen a door as I am converting a bathroom to a boiler room.
This is how the door and the area around it look from inside the bathroom. As you can see, it is loosely bricked to the left of the door.
Above the door, I thought there would be a beam since the door is in the heart wall of the basement. Not so, it's just some "loosely" brickwork that doesn't even rest on a "fixed" wall around the door but in line with it (see arrows). Surely it can't support any forces there?!
The loosely bricked bricks are not even laid as thick as the wall but are just right above the door. Below is the door from the other side. Behind the plastic (sorry for that, hope you can still see...) you can see that it is empty under the ceiling, up to the door.
Now the questions are:
1. Is the beam somehow inside the ceiling, should I clear and take a look?
2. Can I remove the "loosely" bricked bricks above the door? Or should I suspect there are lots of reinforcements inside them?
3. Can I widen the door, to the right from inside the bathroom, i.e., not just remove the loosely bricked area to the left of it (see the first image above).
Basement, house from '36, need to widen a door as I am converting a bathroom to a boiler room.
This is how the door and the area around it look from inside the bathroom. As you can see, it is loosely bricked to the left of the door.
Above the door, I thought there would be a beam since the door is in the heart wall of the basement. Not so, it's just some "loosely" brickwork that doesn't even rest on a "fixed" wall around the door but in line with it (see arrows). Surely it can't support any forces there?!
The loosely bricked bricks are not even laid as thick as the wall but are just right above the door. Below is the door from the other side. Behind the plastic (sorry for that, hope you can still see...) you can see that it is empty under the ceiling, up to the door.
Now the questions are:
1. Is the beam somehow inside the ceiling, should I clear and take a look?
2. Can I remove the "loosely" bricked bricks above the door? Or should I suspect there are lots of reinforcements inside them?
3. Can I widen the door, to the right from inside the bathroom, i.e., not just remove the loosely bricked area to the left of it (see the first image above).
The loosely mortared stones can be removed without problem, but I wouldn't attempt to demolish more without figuring out how it supports. What kind of floor structure is above? Wood? Concrete? If it's wood, there might be a support beam within the floor structure resting on the brick next to the opening. If it's concrete, you can probably widen the opening by a few centimeters without risking anything.
/Ingenjören
/Ingenjören
The flooring is made of wood. I haven't cleared more of the plaster just above the door to see what's there, but when you tap on it, it sounds a bit "hollow," just like the bricks. I haven't knocked down any ceiling plaster to find out more.
I have two more doors in the wall. One is just next to it and seems to have solid material (15-20cm) above it; I've tapped on the material but haven't scraped off the plaster for closer inspection. There's also a door ~3m away that goes all the way up to the ceiling, similar to the door we're discussing in this thread, meaning the lintel would lie on top of the wall, in the ceiling.
Should I thus suspect that the lintel lies on top of the wall, in the ceiling, so to speak?!? Or could there be a beam running along the entire heart wall?
I have two more doors in the wall. One is just next to it and seems to have solid material (15-20cm) above it; I've tapped on the material but haven't scraped off the plaster for closer inspection. There's also a door ~3m away that goes all the way up to the ceiling, similar to the door we're discussing in this thread, meaning the lintel would lie on top of the wall, in the ceiling.
Should I thus suspect that the lintel lies on top of the wall, in the ceiling, so to speak?!? Or could there be a beam running along the entire heart wall?
I think the wall seems quite thick.
I once did a "loose" masonry in a load-bearing wall and supported the bricks from underneath while placing iron between the bricks and filling with concrete.
It may be that you have a concrete beam behind the bricks that seem loose. I think it should be possible to nail in a fine piece of rebar above the door to test if there is a beam.
I don't believe in any deflection in the wooden joist, rather that there's nothing at all but it depends on how the rest of the wall looks and there were 2 other doors. Hard to know.
You can just support on both sides, remove the bricks and insert a beam.
I once did a "loose" masonry in a load-bearing wall and supported the bricks from underneath while placing iron between the bricks and filling with concrete.
It may be that you have a concrete beam behind the bricks that seem loose. I think it should be possible to nail in a fine piece of rebar above the door to test if there is a beam.
I don't believe in any deflection in the wooden joist, rather that there's nothing at all but it depends on how the rest of the wall looks and there were 2 other doors. Hard to know.
You can just support on both sides, remove the bricks and insert a beam.
Then I have to correct some of my comments above 
See http://www.byggahus.se/forum/showthread.php?t=41421/0
According to my findings there, I have a bit of difficulty (?) exposing and seeing what is above the doorway. I drilled right next to it and there the thickness of the concrete was 7-8cm.
- Shouldn't be any problem removing the loose bricks above the doorway and removing the door frame, etc...
- If I want to widen the door ~5-10cm to the right according to the top image, i.e., not where there are "loose" bricks vertically, should I prop and insert a beam above the new doorway, a bit into the surrounding walls? Or is the construction as "bunker-like" as I think so it shouldn't matter and I can just cut it down!?? Fully aware that you can't give a rock-solid answer without coming here and feeling the equipment, but what do you think?
See http://www.byggahus.se/forum/showthread.php?t=41421/0According to my findings there, I have a bit of difficulty (?) exposing and seeing what is above the doorway. I drilled right next to it and there the thickness of the concrete was 7-8cm.
- Shouldn't be any problem removing the loose bricks above the doorway and removing the door frame, etc...
- If I want to widen the door ~5-10cm to the right according to the top image, i.e., not where there are "loose" bricks vertically, should I prop and insert a beam above the new doorway, a bit into the surrounding walls? Or is the construction as "bunker-like" as I think so it shouldn't matter and I can just cut it down!?? Fully aware that you can't give a rock-solid answer without coming here and feeling the equipment
, but what do you think?
I think it will be fine. As mentioned, we seem to have similar construction on the houses (see my answer in your other thread), and I have made a door opening of about 90 cm in a basement wall without any problems (so far...). What I didn't realize until afterward was that one of the beams is right in the middle of the door opening. But everything stands, and it hasn't moved a millimeter, so I sleep peacefully at night.
Thank you! And how long is "didn't realize until afterwards" :
If my search for stålbalkar in the floor structure has been successful, I don't have any right in the doorway so I feel pretty calm...
Anyway, further comments are welcomed with gratitude
If my search for stålbalkar in the floor structure has been successful, I don't have any right in the doorway so I feel pretty calm...
Anyway, further comments are welcomed with gratitude
You, now you put on your cowboy hat and poke away those bricks - it sounds like they will fall off by themselves soon anyway. As long as you don't have to exert much force to remove the items, it's hardly load-bearing.swehjo said:Well, further opinions are gratefully received
Found an old thread from when I made a new hole in the heart wall of the basement:
http://www.byggahus.se/forum/showthread.php?t=25127/11#11
;D ;D ;D
yeah damn...
I'm a devil at discussing tiny millimeter threads in Solex's carburetor housing of zinc casting and what brand and surface treatments the bolts on the left front fender should have on Mercs from April '57. But bricks, concrete, and cast iron make me sleep extremely poorly, if at all
The message has been received though; the Stetson hat is being polished and I guess I won't just remove the "loose" bricks, I might even remove a bit more