Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 20, 2010 11:31 pm hello me and partner need help! we had a "proffessional" come and do work at our house and put an arch way in a wall between our kitchen and lounge room. however, he told us this was not a load bearing wall, and as it turns out, it is. the builder over the road says the house is not likely to fall down on top of us soon, but I can see it is starting to crack. Can we put support beams on the outside of the wall, as in, around the arch way.. or do we need to get someone in to do it proffessionally asap? and how much would something like that cost?? ARGH! thanks in advance Re: it IS A load bearing wall oh no 2Aug 20, 2010 11:40 pm hopelesshouse hello me and partner need help! we had a "proffessional" come and do work at our house and put an arch way in a wall between our kitchen and lounge room. however, he told us this was not a load bearing wall, and as it turns out, it is. the builder over the road says the house is not likely to fall down on top of us soon, but I can see it is starting to crack. Can we put support beams on the outside of the wall, as in, around the arch way.. or do we need to get someone in to do it proffessionally asap? and how much would something like that cost?? ARGH! thanks in advance Get another opinion urgently. In the mean time, you can buy/hire a couple of acro props to support a beam as a temporary lintel to hold it up. Then decide what to do... like suing the first guy. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: it IS A load bearing wall oh no 4Aug 21, 2010 7:16 am I'm with ED, on this one, Prop it int he mean time, and then persue the previous PROFESSIONAL. You should be able to keep some sort of opening there if you install a beam to Spec. see engineer RE that. Hope it all works out for you. Keep us posted Re: it IS A load bearing wall oh no 5Aug 21, 2010 9:37 pm Is it brick or a framed wall? Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: it IS A load bearing wall oh no 6Aug 21, 2010 10:45 pm Hi, Arches can of course support loads, as the Romans knew, but they have to be properly constructed for it, and yours is possibly more decorative than structural. I agree with the above opinions, in that the worst you will wind up with is an opening with a large enough beam above it (even if right up at the height of the cornice), and a purely decorative arch below that. However you do need engineering advice now if it does bear a load from the roof. The first step is probably to support the arch with an Acrow prop which you can hire, and a wooden pad to spread the load a bit at the top of it. Check what is under the floor at the foot of the prop too if it is timber, it needs to be over a joist and bearer, or some sort of underfloor support. The next builder along will possibly knock a hole through the wall higher up, then insert a beam through with a prop on either side to take the load, then reconstruct the wall under that. I don't know what you can do to get after the first builder, but it would be worth complaining somewhere. Cheers Re: it IS A load bearing wall oh no 7Aug 22, 2010 7:34 am GeoffW1 Hi, Arches can of course support loads, as the Romans knew, but they have to be properly constructed for it, and yours is possibly more decorative than structural. Round arches can support loads, but square ones cannot. It's unlikely this one is designed for load as the guy decided the wall was not load bearing. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Any structural alteration to your home requires building permit. Before you get it you will have to supply plans with structural assessment, you will also be removing… 2 4125 Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5195 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16156 |