Reasonable price for calculating lintel for a load-bearing wall

[sayato]

Hello!

I am a new member of the forum, and after asking around, reading, Googling, etc., I feel I must ask my first question and thus make my first post in hopes of getting some guidance and help.

I live in a condominium apartment in a multi-story building from 1958. Floor 3 of a total of 4. Structurally, the whole building consists of concrete, floors, ceilings, exterior walls, interior walls, etc. I have been provided with complete construction drawings for the entire property free of charge from the municipality.

I am facing a complete renovation of this apartment. To bring in more natural light and to make the residence an open-plan living space, I want to remove a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and living room. The total length is approximately 4 meters and 150 millimeters thick. See the attached floor plan, where black-marked walls are the apartment's load-bearing exterior and interior walls, and the red-marked wall is the one to be demolished.

I have been in contact with the municipal building office where I was informed that a building notification is required for this measure. Since the municipality wants to know how I plan to handle the wall's structural support and maintain the building's load-bearing capacity during and after the intervention, I am in search of a structural engineer to calculate the support and provide me with the required K-drawing.

Due to this, I have encountered two problems. I am searching for a structural engineer, which seems nearly impossible to find. But when I finally found one, the prices vary significantly, and I mean literally significantly! I need to find a structural engineer who has a reasonable price level for their work.

The municipality refuses to assist with suggestions for structural engineers because they have to remain "impartial."

One structural engineer I have been in contact with does not work on simpler projects like this but focuses more on larger projects such as new construction of multi-story buildings and others. But according to him, the price for this should be between 2000-3000 SEK.

Another structural engineer, specialized in structural engineering and active at Lund University of Technology, estimated the time required to be about 6 hours and therefore is willing to provide me with everything needed for 7000 SEK.

One of the structural engineers working at Sweco estimated the cost to be around 10000-18000 SEK.

But today, I received a minor shock after contacting a structural engineer who runs a sole proprietorship on his own. According to this person, he would charge 31250 SEK for the calculation of the support and complete K-drawings. To this, he added that he could also be responsible for the project's control with an additional 18750 SEK. Thus, a total of 50000 SEK. WTF!?

I understand that no one has exactly the same prices and that there are different price levels, but that it could differ this drastically much I had no idea and find it very difficult to understand.

After much Googling and searching on the forum, I have also noticed that there have been members who have done exactly the same intervention, namely demolishing a 4-meter load-bearing wall and paid 2000-4000 SEK for a structural engineer to calculate the support and provide them with a K-drawing. Members who have built a completely new house from scratch have paid about 15000 SEK for complete construction drawings.

What do you consider a reasonable price level? Above all, where can I find a skilled structural engineer with a sensible price level in the Malmö region? Feel free to share your suggestions, comments, opinions, etc. I am open to a discussion and would like to hear from those of you who have experience with this or similar projects.

Sorry for a long post. It's my first one, as mentioned, and due to my thoroughness, I wanted to describe the matter as comprehensively as possible and so you get a detailed overall picture.

Regards,
nzsc

Hello!
We are also looking for a structural engineer in the Malmö area. Would you like to recommend the company you hired?

Thank you!

 

[nzsc]

Hi!
We are also looking for a designer in the Malmö area. Would you like to recommend the company you hired?

Thanks!

Check inbox!

 

[aureliavallier]

Hello!
I am also looking for a designer for the same reason, would you be kind enough to share the company you hired?
Thanks in advance
Aurelia

 

[Franquin]

Hello
We are also looking for a konstruktör, so if you have time to help more with tips, we would be grateful.
Best regards,
Anders

 

[OXYD]

Living in your area. Please send over contact info.

 

[nzsc]

Hello!
I am also looking for a constructor for the same reason, would you be kind enough to share the company you hired?
thanks in advance
/aurelia

Please check your inbox!

 

[nzsc]

Hi
We are also looking for a designer, so if you have time to help more with tips, we would be grateful.
Best regards
Anders

Please check inbox!

 

[andygus]

Hey, thanks for your post, great info! What was the total cost? Building permit, drawings, engineer, completed work, and everything it entailed? Thanks in advance

 

[nzsc]

Hi, thanks for your post, great info! What was the total cost? Building permit, drawing documents, constructor, completed work, and everything it involved? Thanks in advance

See inbox!

 

[nzsc]

Thanks to @Bernieberg for recommending a konstruktör, I have realized my project and I don't regret it for a second. It turned out great in the end! In turn, I have surely helped about ten other people who were in the same situation as me, looking for a konstruktör.

It would be nice to hear in the thread about others' experiences, how it went after my tip, etc. Did you realize the intended project? Were you satisfied? What were the prices? How was the experience, etc.?

 

[Maestrono]

Would also like contact information, in the same situation

 

[markspark1989]

Check your inbox!

I would also like to know this, i.e., which contractor, total cost, time expenditure, etc.

I am in the Stockholm area and considering converting from a 2-room to a 3-room apartment. I have a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and living room (see attached drawing, where the kitchen is "at the top" of the drawing). Building from the early 1900s, 3rd floor out of 5. However, I do not intend to tear down the wall completely, but rather open it up in two spots (size-wise, the openings would be like a door at one spot and a bit larger at the other).

If anyone has tips, they are welcome, ranging from contractors in the Stockholm area to practical details!

 

[fråga hus]

An update for readers who are already in or may possibly find themselves in a similar situation:

Naturally, prices vary, whether it's for goods or services. However, one looks at the price distribution. A product costs differently from store to store. Likewise, a service. Why this is so naturally depends on several factors. (I won't go into the economic aspects)

However, I would like to say that in my search for a designer, I encountered the following as a private individual:

- large corporate companies, such as Sweco, WSP, etc. do not take on simpler tasks.
- larger companies with several designers do not work with private individuals.
- smaller companies with 1-2 designers are therefore the right forum to turn to for simpler tasks as a private individual.

After getting an idea of what the price should be for a designer to calculate the removal of a load-bearing wall that I intend to remove entirely, I received different price quotes. Note that this applies to my case, and all factors affect the price, of course. Primarily, it is the number of working hours and hourly rate that ultimately affect the final price. Other factors can be available materials, experience, type of method, etc.

From a well-known medium-sized company with 7-10 active designers, I got two different prices even though they are colleagues with each other and work at the same company. The difference is that one is inexperienced, while the other is considerably more experienced. Designer vs. Project lead designer. 7500 SEK incl. VAT, 8 hours of work. vs. 9000 SEK incl. VAT, time spent unknown, but probably the same. Naturally, it should be less since he is more experienced.

From another solo business, I received an offer of 4000 SEK incl. VAT, time spent unknown.

From a third solo business, I received an offer of 7000 SEK incl. VAT, 6 hours of work.

From a fourth solo business, I received an offer of 5625 SEK incl. VAT, 5 hours of work.

As you can see, both prices and time spent naturally vary. Hence, hourly rates also differ. It can be stated that based on this, and posts that others have made with similar measures, the price ends up around 5000-6000 SEK incl. VAT.

This differs significantly from the 31250 SEK incl. VAT that I received in an offer from an obviously unscrupulous actor in the market and this was precisely what prompted me to start the thread. It is a solo enterprise and sole proprietorship should also be added. The person in question is authorized, albeit far from experienced compared to the one I have hired.

The reason I am writing this is that I have also encountered different posts where some others have encountered the same astronomical price quotes for similar jobs.

My tip for private individuals facing similar projects is to:
- contact smaller companies or solo enterprises
- request a price quote at the first contact
- contact several, preferably 5-10

...and last but absolutely not least...

For God's sake, take the help of a designer as soon as it concerns load-bearing parts!!! The cost this entails is negligible compared to what the entire project costs, BUT above all what it could cost IF something were to go wrong! Don't take your chances

BIG KUDOS AND HEARTFELT THANKS TO @Bernieberg FOR THE TIP!

I would appreciate it if I could get contacts for a designer, I'm also having trouble finding one.

 

[Appendix]

I would also like to be part of this, i.e., which constructor, total cost, time spent, etc.

I'm located in the Stockholm region and considering remodeling from a 2-room to a 3-room. There is a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and living room (see attached drawing, where the kitchen is "at the top" of the drawing). House from the early 1900s, floor 3/5. However, I'm not planning to completely tear down the wall, but rather open it up in two places (size-wise, the openings would be like a door at one place and slightly larger at the other).

If people have tips, they're welcome with everything from constructors in the Stockholm region to practical details!

Sent a tip on the constructor in northern Sthlm I used via PM

 

[Katguskatgus]

Hi,
I'm dealing with the same problem you once had. I'm wondering if you could pass on the contact information to us. You seem very satisfied with the work done. Thanks in advance! Katarina