I have owned an older house for almost a year, most of it is somewhat in need of renovation, which means I don't have to do "surgical" interventions that must be adapted to something already renovated. As the subject suggests, I'd like to tear down load-bearing walls both downstairs and upstairs. The load-bearing wall downstairs somehow goes through the chimney (where it is probably a wall, of course?) no side is longer than 5 meters and in another thread, HEB 200 and HEA 180 steel beams were mentioned. When these replace a load-bearing wall, the entire weight will be placed on 2 points, namely the column bases at each end of the beam (of course). There should then be a large increase in pressure against the foundation wall and the entire existing wall (exterior wall in this case on one side, chimney on the other). Suppose 2 pieces of 2"6" studs provide an area of 4"6" both up and down on a post; are these areas sufficient? Downward, I wish to place it against the existing 70-year-old cast concrete foundation wall!! Downward pressure can be distributed with a construction that provides a larger area against the foundation wall, of course, but what is sufficient in this case?
The upstairs "load-bearing walls" are not real ones since they run parallel to the chimney and thus go from gable exterior wall to gable exterior wall. These walls then have no wall directly under them on the lower floor. Just opening up a part of these walls and thereby getting a post pressure on an existing floor "in the middle of the floor so to speak" is probably not a brilliant idea; again, the beam goes from exterior wall to, in this case, the middle of the house where the pressure can be absorbed by the interior wall that runs parallel to the gables. However, once again, I am placing almost the entire weight of the house on the exterior walls; for information, there are about 55 m2 on the floor plans and on the ground floor there are 4 rooms, with an exterior corner being a solution that almost all older small houses have (I think). What I'm really wondering about is the pressure on the exterior walls; I'm not entirely sure if I have a genuine log frame, if so, it is no more than 15 cm in log width, and simply placing a weight on these could create a "collapse" effect where the walls start to bulge. Something I don't want, of course. Perhaps a bit of a long and silly question overall, but if it is feasible, I can use the entire upstairs while doing a major upgrade of the entire floor structure on the lower floor, as I also expect to have to replace part of the "sill." This became long; I hope someone has the patience to read and answer, thanks in advance.
Best regards, Hans O
The upstairs "load-bearing walls" are not real ones since they run parallel to the chimney and thus go from gable exterior wall to gable exterior wall. These walls then have no wall directly under them on the lower floor. Just opening up a part of these walls and thereby getting a post pressure on an existing floor "in the middle of the floor so to speak" is probably not a brilliant idea; again, the beam goes from exterior wall to, in this case, the middle of the house where the pressure can be absorbed by the interior wall that runs parallel to the gables. However, once again, I am placing almost the entire weight of the house on the exterior walls; for information, there are about 55 m2 on the floor plans and on the ground floor there are 4 rooms, with an exterior corner being a solution that almost all older small houses have (I think). What I'm really wondering about is the pressure on the exterior walls; I'm not entirely sure if I have a genuine log frame, if so, it is no more than 15 cm in log width, and simply placing a weight on these could create a "collapse" effect where the walls start to bulge. Something I don't want, of course. Perhaps a bit of a long and silly question overall, but if it is feasible, I can use the entire upstairs while doing a major upgrade of the entire floor structure on the lower floor, as I also expect to have to replace part of the "sill." This became long; I hope someone has the patience to read and answer, thanks in advance.
Best regards, Hans O
That's precisely why you first install the new beams and only then ask if you can demolish the walls - because then they're no longer load-bearing, and you can do as you please..... :Byggaren said:If you can upload a floor plan of the BV and ÖV, it's easier to see what's needed.
To start with: demolishing load-bearing parts requires a building permit. So you need to apply to the municipality to do that, and the application usually requires a construction drawing with accompanying static calculations.
Secondly: to carry out the action, the municipality probably requires you to appoint a so-called KA (quality responsible), which you have to pay for.
Talking to a constructor is of course wise.
Sorry but I'm struggling to insert my floor plans; I "quickly" drew them in paint and saved them as jpeg, but they won't stick between the "insert image" tags when I try to paste them there.
Building permit it was and KA, that can of course be resolved. I understand that it might be a bit too advanced to explain this with words. It might be a bit difficult to resolve without bringing in a constructor who can calculate it too; however, I believe that many similar houses have had at least one side's heart wall removed, it doesn't involve any massive lengths in my cases. One often sees and reads about how beams replace walls in houses, but it's not as often written about how the increased pressure is managed at the ends of the beams. (It's the outer wall that's giving me some bad vibes as it's not particularly strong, about 15 cm). Regarding the design of the posts, it was to compare an area against another area that I took an example, it could also here become a standing iron beam that had screw connections with the horizontal one (I'm assuming it involves iron beams as they build the smallest). And since the pressure ultimately ends up on the cast wall, maybe there is also a need for reinforcement there. However, it looks like I'll be contacting a constructor before this adventure begins, thanks for the tip
Regarding the upper floor, I'm not completely sure about the truss construction and its name, I'll see if I can find something online to compare with; however, it is a significantly lighter construction of UF "parallel heart walls," thanks for the answers and I will search a bit on the internet on the subject.
Kind regards, hans
Building permit it was and KA, that can of course be resolved. I understand that it might be a bit too advanced to explain this with words. It might be a bit difficult to resolve without bringing in a constructor who can calculate it too; however, I believe that many similar houses have had at least one side's heart wall removed, it doesn't involve any massive lengths in my cases. One often sees and reads about how beams replace walls in houses, but it's not as often written about how the increased pressure is managed at the ends of the beams. (It's the outer wall that's giving me some bad vibes as it's not particularly strong, about 15 cm). Regarding the design of the posts, it was to compare an area against another area that I took an example, it could also here become a standing iron beam that had screw connections with the horizontal one (I'm assuming it involves iron beams as they build the smallest). And since the pressure ultimately ends up on the cast wall, maybe there is also a need for reinforcement there. However, it looks like I'll be contacting a constructor before this adventure begins, thanks for the tip
Regarding the upper floor, I'm not completely sure about the truss construction and its name, I'll see if I can find something online to compare with; however, it is a significantly lighter construction of UF "parallel heart walls," thanks for the answers and I will search a bit on the internet on the subject.
Kind regards, hans
If you have the image on your computer, you need to select "Attach" just below the text box where you write your post. If you have the image on a web server and have a link to the image that looks like http://www.blabla.se/bilden.jpg then you can use the insert image tags.hans said:
Thank you, new test....... > can't get it right; this message pops up
NOTICE: If you had an attachment in your post, you will need to reselect the attachment again in the browse box for security reasons.
I have tried 3 times to upload the image but it won't work. Okay, no worries, I have plenty of time to make better drawings since they were quite wrong in proportions. I will return to this topic once I have resolved the technical issue. I also surfed around roof truss constructions but didn't find any that were right!! Well, the house has stood for 70 years, so they are likely to hold for me as well. I will try to describe how they/it looks in OV. Along the house, my outer walls in OV are about one meter high, and since I have a fairly steep roof, I can stand upright (1.80 meters myself) just 80 cm from the wall. OV "heart walls" (probably using the wrong word here) are about 1.70 meters in from the outer wall, and the ceiling height in the attic is about 220 cm. This breaks a bit where the stairs come up, with the wall about 200cm from the outer wall. There are 3 attics, one in each corner, and the stairs go up in the last corner. This makes the room in the middle of OV about 390cm wide and 920cm long but with no sloping ceiling at all; all sloping ceilings are in the attics and stairs up, and the ceiling height in that room is about 240. So it's a very spacious upper floor, as even the attics are more or less perfect guest rooms. But what's surprising to me is that there are no slanting braces at all, usually, you can see if they have been cut out in the floor, but I'm very sure that it's the original construction that's there, and I didn't find that construction from any truss constructors; all modern constructions include some slanting brace in the framework.
So it became another long text and unfortunately no images, but as I said, I have the time with me, so my topic may re-emerge once I have resolved the "technical" issues around it.
Kind regards, Hans O
can't get it right; this message pops up NOTICE: If you had an attachment in your post, you will need to reselect the attachment again in the browse box for security reasons.
I have tried 3 times to upload the image but it won't work. Okay, no worries, I have plenty of time to make better drawings since they were quite wrong in proportions. I will return to this topic once I have resolved the technical issue. I also surfed around roof truss constructions but didn't find any that were right!! Well, the house has stood for 70 years, so they are likely to hold for me as well. I will try to describe how they/it looks in OV. Along the house, my outer walls in OV are about one meter high, and since I have a fairly steep roof, I can stand upright (1.80 meters myself) just 80 cm from the wall. OV "heart walls" (probably using the wrong word here) are about 1.70 meters in from the outer wall, and the ceiling height in the attic is about 220 cm. This breaks a bit where the stairs come up, with the wall about 200cm from the outer wall. There are 3 attics, one in each corner, and the stairs go up in the last corner. This makes the room in the middle of OV about 390cm wide and 920cm long but with no sloping ceiling at all; all sloping ceilings are in the attics and stairs up, and the ceiling height in that room is about 240. So it's a very spacious upper floor, as even the attics are more or less perfect guest rooms. But what's surprising to me is that there are no slanting braces at all, usually, you can see if they have been cut out in the floor, but I'm very sure that it's the original construction that's there, and I didn't find that construction from any truss constructors; all modern constructions include some slanting brace in the framework.
So it became another long text and unfortunately no images, but as I said, I have the time with me, so my topic may re-emerge once I have resolved the "technical" issues around it.
Kind regards, Hans O
Bowing for the answers I received today, I got a lot of info and better names (like PLV) for many of the things I was wondering about. As a side note, I have been doing quite a bit of carpentry on and off for about 25 years and have done many renovations, mostly in older houses. I'm not formally trained, so there have been some beginner mistakes, etc. (a long time ago ). I like constructions and the technical aspects around it, a bit curious and find it interesting. In this case with my own house, it is in UV two rooms divided by the central wall, the room sizes are a bit too small for a living room/family room, and supporting the central wall will probably happen within 2 years. To get a bigger space and to freely be able to do a large renovation of the entire floor area. As mentioned, a constructor should probably be involved here.
Returning to the upper floor, indeed, it's an A that is relevant for the roof truss construction. Raised outer walls and PLV Thanks for this, builder. As a BTW, actually, half of one edge's PLV was removed when I entered the house. It had been that way since the previous owner got it with the purchase over 15 years ago. Noted a sag in the remaining (at least 4 cm) beam/stock that was visible below the inner ceiling, the length of the removed PLV is about 430 cm, so it has likely stressed the remaining construction somewhat. This wall has been rebuilt by me, but now that I have a bit more info on the subject, I will probably reinforce it further. What surprises me a bit is that the PLVs don't have a wall under them, I've now understood they have a fairly important function where they are situated. "Question" Do the PLVs also support the upper floor joists in some way, or is their function just upwards towards the roof? If the house has managed many years without part of the PLV, then there should not be any problem tearing some of it down again (though not the one that has been rebuilt, of course) and not as far as 4 meters, maybe about 2.5 meters opening, but that in turn means the beam that should replace the PLV does not reach the outer walls and then it is difficult to transfer the load-bearing force downwards, which would then end up on a floor joist. I suppose I am answering my question here, and what is relevant in this case is to go from the outer wall with an iron/wood beam and then support it against the UV's internal wall (running parallel to the gables). If we call the wall along the ridge of the roof the central wall, what do we call the one that cuts the central wall and often at the edge with the primary stock. I guess you know which wall I mean? Going from gable to gable is quite bold in this case, over 9 meters, so there will be some posts somewhere in the middle anyway. It can be a bit difficult to phrase things sometimes, to see for oneself if one is clear, is probably an art in itself, I believe.
Thanks also for the opportunity to email, but unfortunately, I had too few saved messages to access that feature, but I'm working on it. Sending this and will try a bit later to see if I can upload any images here.
Best regards, Hans O
). I like constructions and the technical aspects around it, a bit curious and find it interesting. In this case with my own house, it is in UV two rooms divided by the central wall, the room sizes are a bit too small for a living room/family room, and supporting the central wall will probably happen within 2 years. To get a bigger space and to freely be able to do a large renovation of the entire floor area. As mentioned, a constructor should probably be involved here.Returning to the upper floor, indeed, it's an A that is relevant for the roof truss construction. Raised outer walls and PLV Thanks for this, builder. As a BTW, actually, half of one edge's PLV was removed when I entered the house. It had been that way since the previous owner got it with the purchase over 15 years ago. Noted a sag in the remaining (at least 4 cm) beam/stock that was visible below the inner ceiling, the length of the removed PLV is about 430 cm, so it has likely stressed the remaining construction somewhat. This wall has been rebuilt by me, but now that I have a bit more info on the subject, I will probably reinforce it further. What surprises me a bit is that the PLVs don't have a wall under them, I've now understood they have a fairly important function where they are situated. "Question" Do the PLVs also support the upper floor joists in some way, or is their function just upwards towards the roof? If the house has managed many years without part of the PLV, then there should not be any problem tearing some of it down again (though not the one that has been rebuilt, of course) and not as far as 4 meters, maybe about 2.5 meters opening, but that in turn means the beam that should replace the PLV does not reach the outer walls and then it is difficult to transfer the load-bearing force downwards, which would then end up on a floor joist. I suppose I am answering my question here, and what is relevant in this case is to go from the outer wall with an iron/wood beam and then support it against the UV's internal wall (running parallel to the gables). If we call the wall along the ridge of the roof the central wall, what do we call the one that cuts the central wall and often at the edge with the primary stock. I guess you know which wall I mean? Going from gable to gable is quite bold in this case, over 9 meters, so there will be some posts somewhere in the middle anyway. It can be a bit difficult to phrase things sometimes, to see for oneself if one is clear, is probably an art in itself, I believe.
Thanks also for the opportunity to email, but unfortunately, I had too few saved messages to access that feature, but I'm working on it. Sending this and will try a bit later to see if I can upload any images here.
Best regards, Hans O