1890's House - Internal walls

[chris101]

Had a builder over and advised that my internal walls are not very stable in a sense that after a few years, due to small movements, cracks would appear in the plaster boards.

He has advised me to knock down the non supporting walls and put up wooden walls which he has advised are far stronger and built to last (all new builds have woodedn internal walls now?).

Is this above true?

If so, what would be the costs of knocking them down and rebuilding with wood or brick?

 

[TheVictorian]

Seems like a load of rubbish to me.

A proper internal brick wall should be more stable than a stud wall due to less thermal movement in brick compared to timber.

Have you got any photos of your walls to share?

 

[TheVictorian]

New builds have stud walls because they are quicker and cheaper rather than stronger...

 

[chris101]

View media item 59566
Here is a pic of the current internal walls

 

[TheVictorian]

Admittedly that section looks pretty rubbish, but it's quite small by the looks of it and nothing a bit of pointing won't fix.

Have you got a pic of a wider span of wall?

 

[chris101]

Unfortunately not as the other internal wall has been knocked down which was winder.

There are 3-4 other internal walls they are considering of knocking down and ill try to get the pics of them before hand.

 

[chris101]

View media item 59567
Heres a pic with the one of the walls removed and the wall with the spade against is the one that they may have to remove depending on condition...

 

[jeds]

That wall doesn't look in great condition and it is probably a sensible suggestion to replace it. What you replace with comes down to preference really. There's nothing wrong with stud walls; they are easy to build, quicker and probably a shade cheaper than a brick wall. But they ain't stronger and they wont last any longer. If it were mine I'd probably rebuild using the same bricks. My guess is the builder prefers building timber to brick - cos he's a chippy not a bricky. Ask a bricky for advice on the same job and he'll say rebuild them in brick.

 

[RonnyRaygun]

These internal walls - especially if running from side to side - will be helping with the overall stability of the building. Never a good idea to remove them if this is the case. It's less of an issue if your house is terraced as neighbouring properties will aid stability, but still not a good idea.

Therefore I wouldn't recommend rebuilding with stud as it will do nothing to aid lateral stability...unless it is diagonally braced.

I can't see why you would remove an existing wall and replace with timber. Are there currently any cracks in it? If not no reason to suspect that new plaster will crack, especially if missing mortar / damaged bricks are replaced beforehand.

 

[tony1851]

The walls in the pics are standard brick-on-edge partitions which were common for non-loadbearing partitions in the 19th C.

I would guess the second pic might be from the landing looking through to the wall beween the front and rear rooms?

The wall between the bedroom and landing would usually be brick-on-edge, as it would be non-structural.
However, the wall with the spade leaning against it may possibly be a normal brick wall providing support to the ceiling, and a dgree of lateral stability. Is it essential to remove that wall?

 

[JohnD]

the thing in your first picture is poor-quality brick infill in timber studding.

I've seen in last 105 years and be OK, yes, it can crack a bit, but not worth the trouble of knocking it down. It is reasonably sound resistant. I have only seen it plastered, not boarded. Plaster does not stick well to the wooden studs.

 

[tony1851]

the thing in your first picture is poor-quality brick infill in timber studding.

I've seen in last 105 years and be OK, yes, it can crack a bit, but not worth the trouble of knocking it down.

Agreed; I cant see why OP has been persuaded to take it down. Couldn't the wall just have been stripped of old plaster and boarded with plasterboard and skim? (plasterboard could be screwed to the studs). Suspect the builder has been making some work for himself.

 

[chris101]

The builder is charging me only £400 to take down 4 internal walls and replace them with wooden walls.

The pictures below are currently some of the walls and their conditions.

The builder is also rewiring the whole house for free so I doubt he is in it to pocket from this...

View media item 59612 View media item 59609 View media item 59610 View media item 59611 View media item 59613 View media item 59608

 

[JohnD]

some of your pictures show brickwork but no studding. No need to pull them down.

 

[tony1851]

The builder is charging me only £400 I doubt he is in it to pocket from this...

You're not kidding. He will loose money, that is if the jobs are done properly.
Is he a qualified electrician, or is he employing one?