I have a two-storey house, built in 1919, brick cavity wall construction. I plan to remove a wall on the ground floor, to knock two rooms together. There is no wall above this wall on the first floor, but when I lifted the upstairs floorboards it would appear that the joists are resting on this ground floor wall, mid-span. I can see the top of the bricks and the joists are resting on these.
I discussed it with some of my neighbours with identical houses. They've both had the same wall taken out, and neither had any reinforcing work done. No sistered joists, no steel beams, just wall taken out. One of them even DIY'd this wall removal 10 years ago so it can't be a case of the builder added joists when he wasn't looking.
Here's where I am puzzled... the joists are 172mm by 55mm, at 360mm centres, and once the wall is gone the span is just over 4.6 metres - this is a metre longer than the spans quoted for 170 by 50mm at 400mm centres... which makes me think that wall I want to remove must be a supporting wall.
Was wood really that much better 97 years ago, or is it pure luck that their floors haven't gone bouncy/bowed/collapsed?
I discussed it with some of my neighbours with identical houses. They've both had the same wall taken out, and neither had any reinforcing work done. No sistered joists, no steel beams, just wall taken out. One of them even DIY'd this wall removal 10 years ago so it can't be a case of the builder added joists when he wasn't looking.
Here's where I am puzzled... the joists are 172mm by 55mm, at 360mm centres, and once the wall is gone the span is just over 4.6 metres - this is a metre longer than the spans quoted for 170 by 50mm at 400mm centres... which makes me think that wall I want to remove must be a supporting wall.
Was wood really that much better 97 years ago, or is it pure luck that their floors haven't gone bouncy/bowed/collapsed?