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Behind The Scenes – Removing A Loadbearing Wall

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Last week, after months of planning, we were finally able to share our new-look kitchen and dining room with you.

Just to remind you, this is what the view from the dining room towards the kitchen used to look like

Knocking Down A Loadbearing Wall

You can see that we kept a bit of the old and disgusting carpet to cover our newly sanded floor with while the building works took place.

Dining Kitchen

It’s one of the biggest changes that have happened around here so far and whilst we absolutely love it, it still definitely takes some getting used to.

Although the wall has been gone for about 1.5 weeks now, we still find that were sometimes surprised when we turn round and we’re looking into another room!

Dining Room

Before we could even think about getting out a hammer and bashing holes into our load bearing wall, there were a few things that needed to be sorted, starting with all of the structural issues.

Structural Engineer

Our lovely structural engineer, Paul, came round to talk though our plans and check the condition of the existing walls, ceiling, etc.

Structural Engineer

He wasn’t too happy about the size of the opening being so large, but luckily he was still able to work out a way that we could have what we wanted – even if this now does involve an absolutely huge steel beam.

Preparation

There wasn’t too much prep work to do. The main job was to dismantle a few of our wall-hung units.

Taking Down A Kitchen

Now you all know why we were desperate for some new storage! Luckily our new shelves are exactly what we needed.

Kitchen Shelves

The works still aren’t quite completed and finishing off everything will definitely take a long while, but it’s definitely a huge step in the right direction!

Electrics & Plumbing

With it being one of the biggest walls in our house, it was kind of inevitable that we’d have a few sockets and a radiator attached to it.

Ideally this would have been sorted before building works began, but our amazing builder was happy to work around them, so that they could all be removed after the wall had been knocked down.

Knocking Down A Wall

Whilst we had an electrician sort out disconnecting everything, Jan decided that it would be a good idea to remove the radiator himself.

It turned out that watching a few YouTube videos, doesn’t necessarily prepare you for any problems you might incur.

Removing A Wall

As it turned out, the remaining pipes ended up leaking, we had to turn off our heating and ended up having no warm water for a few days! Having a freezing cold shower really isn’t a lot of fun.

Building Work

We have a bit of a confession to make here. We don’t have many progress pictures as we planned our recent trip to the Cotswolds around the building work.

There’s only so much dust and dirt a girl can put up with! By the time we got back, the wall was already gone and our whole house was held up by a few acro props.

Removing A Wall

We didn’t miss too much of the action though, as Jan had promised to be one of the helpers when installing the steel beam.

Removing A Wall

As much as we love it now, I have to admit, that I could barely watch while the beam was being installed. At around 300 kg, it was certainly not any easy thing to do!

Because it was too heavy to lift all the way up in one go, the builders nudged the steel up bit by bit using concrete blocks until it just had to be lifted into place for the final few centimetres.

Removing A Wall

With all of the constant building work going on around here, you’d think we’d be used to a bit of a mess and dirt by now. We thought we were, but nothing prepared us for the amount of dust that knocking down just one wall would cause.

Dusty Living Room

It’s everywhere! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve vacuumed, dusted and wiped every surface.

You’ve all already seen the amazing results but, just because we love it so much, here are some more images for you.

Knocking Down A Loadbearing Wall
Knocking Down A Loadbearing Wall
Removing A Load Bearing Wall

The works still aren’t quite completed and finishing off everything will definitely take a long while, especially as what feels like a million other little jobs have arisen because of removing the wall.

We still need to replace the missing floorboard, install a new door from the hallway to kitchen,  have the beam boxed in & everything plastered. At least it’s a huge step in the right direction!

What’s the biggest building project that you’ve undertaken?

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Comments

  1. BJ says

    15/01/2016 at 02:41

    How long (hours) did it take to finish the project from Start to finish? Breakdown would be helpful?

    Reply
    • Christine says

      15/01/2016 at 08:23

      All together it took about a week to do.
      Cx

      Reply
      • james says

        16/06/2016 at 11:39

        Hi guys,

        Inspiring effort as always. Just out of interest, what builders did you use for the job? I’ve just moved to Chorlton and have taken on a nearly identical project to your own. Having a nightmare finding one that doesn’t quote silly money.

        Thanks,
        James.

        Reply
        • Christine says

          16/06/2016 at 11:44

          I can totally relate to the problem of finding a good builder, James!
          We only give recommendations for tradespeople we were really happy with and our builder is one of them. I’ll email you the details.
          Good luck with your renovation!
          Cx

          Reply
          • James says

            16/06/2016 at 21:56

            Christine you’re a life saver! Thanks so much.

            Reply
  2. Fraser says

    18/06/2015 at 19:32

    Thanks for writing all this up. Gives a good idea of what to expect. I have 3 load bearing walls to lintel…

    Reply
    • Christine says

      18/06/2015 at 19:43

      Wow, 3 times the mess then ;) I’m sure it’ll be worth it though!
      Cx

      Reply
  3. Renee says

    01/06/2015 at 21:13

    Thank you for a great post. We are having the same thing done in our home and also taking out the wall between the living and dining room and opening up the whole downstairs. Your post has given me hope that although there will be lots of dust it doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would be. I now have vision of what the open space will look like once it is done. Thanks for a great blog

    Reply
    • Christine says

      02/06/2015 at 12:44

      Thanks Renee! Yes, it’s soo messy, but just always remember that it’ll be so worth it when you have a fab new space!
      Good luck with your wall removal!
      Cx

      Reply
  4. James & Monica says

    09/03/2015 at 15:23

    Great little blog! We’re just in the process of purchasing our first house and the first thing we would like to do is this, so it is great to read about your experiences. We’re really excited to get stuck in and make the place our own :)

    James & Monica

    Reply
    • Christine says

      09/03/2015 at 18:07

      How exciting & thanks! Removing the wall was by far the best thing we’ve done in our home so far. I’d definitely recommend doing as one of your very first project as it makes a lot! of dirt.
      Good luck with your new home!
      Cx

      Reply
      • Melanie says

        17/03/2015 at 20:00

        Hi. Just reading your blog. And found it to be very informative. Especially as this is exactly what I am looking to have done in my property but by husband is not keen on the idea. A couple of his friends have mentioned that it may cause a lot of damage on the upper floor and he is concerned due to the fact we had a complete bathroom refurb only recently. Can you tell me did your property incur any damage in this case I.e cracks, flaky walls etc ?

        Reply
        • Christine says

          18/03/2015 at 08:45

          Thanks Melanie! We personally love our new open space and for us, it’s one of the best things we’ve done to the house. Yes, we did have some damage in the upstairs walls, but it was minimal. The wall directly over the steel has two small cracks (one at each end), and there’s also a tiny crack in the adjoing room downstairs. I totally understand your husband being worried, especially if your bathroom is new.
          If your bathroom is directly over the wall you’re removing I’d probably be more worried, if not, it shoouldn’t really affect it. Having said that, it of course depends on your home, the structure of the building, how much you’re removing, your builder, etc.
          Hope that’s some help!
          Cx

          Reply
  5. peter bennett says

    15/07/2014 at 08:42

    Hi Christine – out of interest, how long did the building work take once commenced? We are about to do the same thing, just waiting for the engineer to complete calculations today. my builder said it would take 1-2 weeks depending on any needed foundation work. i was hoping 2 weeks tops?
    hope you enjoying it. We are excited to see our outcome.

    cheers

    Reply
    • Christine says

      15/07/2014 at 09:29

      So excited for you, Peter – I’m sure it’ll be amazing. We didn’t need any work to the foundations, so our job was pretty straight forward. The work we had done took 3 days, which didn’t include the boxing in of the steel and any plastereing, I can’t see that taking any more than a day though. If you don’t need any foundation work doing, I’d be surprised if the whole job took longer than a week.
      Cx

      Reply
      • peter bennett says

        15/07/2014 at 14:20

        thanks Christine. unfortunately we have an existing beam going onto the wall we are taking out, so a post needs to be put in there where they join. My engineer sounds very thorough though so I am hoping his drawings will help make it a smooth (as possible) job. Love the stairs by the way… not sue I have 250 hours of sanding left in me though

        Reply
  6. Ruth says

    05/07/2014 at 20:54

    Wow……….. really enjoyed reading this & the pictures too !

    We are just about to embark on the same project in the next couple of weeks.

    The space is almost identical to ours. Your pictures gave me a great sense of what the finished project will look like.

    Thanks for taking the time to blog this :)

    Your home looks fabulous by the way.

    Ruth

    Reply
    • Christine says

      06/07/2014 at 09:35

      Thanks Ruth! Removing the wall was dusty and messy, but actually pretty straight forward. More importantly it’s completely changed the way we live in our home. It’s by far the best improvement we’ve done!
      Cx

      Reply
  7. Victoria Wilkinson says

    27/05/2014 at 15:33

    This is such a useful and insightful blog post. All the pictures and estimates of cost are a great help…very inspired!

    Reply
    • Christine says

      27/05/2014 at 16:33

      Thanks Victoria! Glad we could be some help.
      Cx

      Reply
  8. Roger says

    08/04/2014 at 13:10

    Hi, Out of interest how big is that opening and what was the approximate cost? We are considering doing something similar and would love to know.

    Reply
    • Christine says

      08/04/2014 at 13:16

      The actual cost will depend on the size of the opening and the loads above. In our case the steel is huge, as the opening is a bit over 4m and it has to support the whole house and our future loft conversion. All in all (without making good and without the cost for the structural engineer or building control sign off) we paid just over £1100. (it would have been less, if the steel hadn’t been so ridiculously large)

      You will have to start by getting in touch with a structural engineer. They will come out, check the situation (make sure you get one that will come in person and not just do things from a drawing) and then tell you what’s possible and what you’ll need. He will then provide you will the calculations for your builder and building regulations. I think we paid around £300 for the engineer. When the steel is in, you’ll need building control to sign it off, which will be about another £150 (again it varies and if you are doing other structural work, you can get more than one thing signed off in one go).

      It was by far the best improvement to the house we’ve made so far! Hope that’s some help! Good luck!
      Cx

      Reply
      • Roger says

        08/04/2014 at 13:21

        Ok, that would explain it. We had a quote ballpark figure (pre-quote) of £5000, which was for an RSJ and a brick supporting column. We are hoping to make the whole downstairs open plan, with an opening of around 6m.

        Structual engineer is due round soon, hopefully the builder was over estimating the load rather than under estimating!

        Your place is looking amazing by the way!

        Reply
        • Christine says

          08/04/2014 at 13:23

          Thanks Roger! We still have a lot to do, but are slowly getting there. Good luck with your renovation!
          Cx

          Reply
  9. Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse says

    30/07/2013 at 11:41

    Your post reminds me of so many memories: the dust, the leaking pipes, the gap between the two former rooms! It’ll be worth it in the end. And I now feel lucky that my wall wasn’t a loadbearing one, so we didn’t have to add a way-too-heavy beam!

    Reply
    • Christine says

      30/07/2013 at 12:36

      Good to know that it will come to an end at some point! Doesn’t feel like it at the moment! We’re planning to knock down one more wall, but not for a long while! Not sure how much more dust I could cope with! ;-)
      Cx

      Reply
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