Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jul 22, 2013 12:47 pm Hi, Wanting some on load bearing walls. We would like to remove two walls to make the area open plan kitchen/dining/living. The house has cathedral ceilings and we've been advised by the builder who did the building report that the walls are indeed load bearing. We are wondering whether making them bulkhead would be an option and how much we would expect to pay to have this done. Do we have to have a builder to do it, or can a carpenter/home handyman help us with this? One wall is 3.5m wide and another is approximately 5m wide with an exisiting archway in it. To the right of both these walls is a split level section of the house which we won't be touching structurally. Re: Load bearing walls 2Jul 22, 2013 1:20 pm It is more than likely that a good framing carpenter can do the job, however because you are carrying out structural alterations you will need a building permit. Don't forget that the walls you are removing are likely to have vital bracing. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Load bearing walls 3Jul 25, 2013 10:12 pm I good carpenter will be confident enoungh to design and specify the right beam size as Mr expert says. It depends where you are, Up here in QLD a permit isnt required, but the building services insurance needs to be taken out. Where are you located, this will determine if any permits are needed. Re: Load bearing walls 5Jul 26, 2013 10:02 am One of the reasons I said that you will need a building permit is because you will more than likely need at least two new stumps if you are on a timber floor. New stump excavations must be inspected. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Load bearing walls 6Jul 26, 2013 11:15 am Without seeing how this is framed, it's next to impossible to give you any accurate or even ball park numbers. Someone might throw out a number and it's either going to make you happy or sad, but it wont have any bearing on what your project is really going to cost. You need to have someone local who knows what they are doing come give you a quote. Re: Load bearing walls 7Jul 26, 2013 11:51 am Yeah I thought that would be the case but as I'm new to forums I'm not quite getting how to upload a picture. We're in the process of getting quotes at the moment, but I suppose Id like reassurance that were doing the right thing and not being taken advantage of. Re: Load bearing walls 8Aug 29, 2013 11:32 pm You are carrying out structural alterations, so you will definitely need a building permit. Thus you will need it to be designed and signed off by an engineer and include other documentation like engineering calculations and site plans. Refer to your local council website for information. A building permit can cost quite a fair bit and take a while to approve. Depends on the council. Once you have the designs, then a builder or good carpenter can carry out the works for you. Only with the plans drawn by the engineer can you then get an accurate quote, as this will show materials, and indicate the type of work needed. If they are quoting by inspection and nothing to work with, it will be a ball park figure and things could turn sour if they come across something unexpected. Nonetheless they can give you a price range. Im an graduate engineer and its just my 2 cents. 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 1628 Render your bathroom walls, two opinions versus the one, makes you wonder. 3 4194 The spacing of the studs looks pretty large especially for a load bearing wall. 3 8206 |