Knocked a wall down without engineer

[Monaco]

I have had a wall removed between the dining room and kitchen. It is a load bearing wall.
It’s a terrace house and the wall removed wasn’t long- about 1.8m roughly.
The builder put a lintel in.
I didn’t get an engineer or surveyor to sign this off prior to knocking down the wall because I didn’t know you had to.
I am aware I may need a certificate for when I sell my house.
What are the steps I take now? How will an engineer assess if it’s safe and how much damage will be done to my wall?
If, worse case scenario, it’s not safe, what happens next.

 

[foxhole]

Did you take any photos? Worst case you will have to replace with bigger steel.

 

[Murdochcat]

To make an assessment of what has been done will need the lintel to be exposed AND the pads its siting on at each end .............

 

[robinbanks]

If you took pictures of the work as it progressed, post them for some more targeted advice

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

If/when you came to selling then you can either keep quiet or just be open. The world will not explode either way.

We bought a place with a loft conversion that wasn't approved by anyone. It was junk, built on ceiling joists. We just used it for storing boxes in. But our solicitor got them to pay for lifetime liability insurance against any enforcement action. I think it was just over £100.

The thing is though, building regulations can't be enforced after two years anyway, so it was basically a pointless waste of money - as much use as volcano insurance.

 

[^woody^]

You don't need an engineer and the council's building inspector may not necessarily need it exposed for verification.

The process is called Regularisation, via an application to the council's building control department.

They will decide what checks they need to do, to sign the conversion off. As the span is short, they may well accept your description and may just want some details of the type of lintel used. If anything, they may want a tiny bit of plaster chipping away to confirm the lintel is in place. If you have a photo or receipt for the lintel that helps.

This assumes the lintel is sufficient and no other regulations apply - fire safety, means of escape, ventilation, electrics.

If the work does not comply, they will advise what is required.

 

[^woody^]

If/when you came to selling then you can either keep quiet or just be open. The world will not explode either way.

We bought a place with a loft conversion that wasn't approved by anyone. It was junk, built on ceiling joists. We just used it for storing boxes in. But our solicitor got them to pay for lifetime liability insurance against any enforcement action. I think it was just over £100.

The thing is though, building regulations can't be enforced after two years anyway, so it was basically a pointless waste of money - as much use as volcano insurance.

Does your home insurer know you have unauthorised conversion work?

Substandard work with a life safety risk can be enforced with no time limits.

 

[Mottie]

I have had a wall removed between the dining room and kitchen. It is a load bearing wall.

We had the same done about 25 years ago. Had an RSJ put in - got a mate to help me. Didn’t know anything about regs then. House is still standing though so I assume it’s all okay. Would we need to get anything official if we ever sold the house?

 

[robinbanks]

Would we need to get anything official if we ever sold the house?

Sounds like a detail that will be lost to the mists of time; who's going to produce a set of plans from when the house was built and say "look; this doorway wasn't there..."

End of the day, during a sale the buyer either wants the place or they don't. There will be some accommodation for bumps in the road if they do

 

[^woody^]

We had the same done about 25 years ago. Had an RSJ put in - got a mate to help me. Didn’t know anything about regs then. House is still standing though so I assume it’s all okay. Would we need to get anything official if we ever sold the house?

When working for a buyer, any surveyor should be mindful of potential alterations, however long ago done, and comment on them. The potential issues are not just structural.

The comment should not be all drama and alarmist but pragmatic - it's OK, it's not OK or it needs further checks.

Some surveyors won't have their labrador with them or won't bother. Others might.
It then becomes a lever to reduce the price, or it delays things or even puts buyers off.

It's a risk. Whether it will happen or not who knows. I always pick these things up, but someone will always say it never cropped up when they bought/ sold their house.

 

[Monaco]

Thank you for your replies. I don’t have photos of the RSJ.

What would my next steps be?

It was done 5 years ago. Would I be able to get it signed off at all? Who would I go to for this?

I wouldn’t mind them drilling in to have a look.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I fitted some windows to our last house, after the point at which FENSA approved fitters became a requirement.

I got a 28-page questionnaire from the buyer's solicitors...

Were any windows fitted after (whatever date) ? YES
Was the installer FENSA-approved? NO

That was that, nothing was said, nobody kicked up a fuss, the end.

Keep issues in perspective. If it worries you then get it checked, if you're only worried about selling it then do something more positive instead.

 

[thomp1983]

If you want to get it regularised then you would need to contact the building inspection/control service at your local council.

They'll be able to advise what needs doing to get it regularised you just need to be aware this may mean you removing the plasterwork around the lintel and the padstones and having to make good afterwards

 

[mrrusty]

I wouldn't worry about it. A house will always sell for what it is worth. If a particular buyer doesn't like it, find another. We bought a house that had been heavily modified several years previously (we were not sure exactly when). Not a sign of any issues, so we didn't even bother with an external survey - I trusted my own judgement.

5 years ago, when we came to sell, the usual "have you got certificates". As we hadn't, we just said no, nor did we know when the work had been done. Buyer huffed a bit, we stood firm - take it or leave it - they took it. Our TA6 was heavily populated with "don't know's". Remember there is no legal requirement for houses to have log books, nor is there any legal requirement for people to have good memories. Let the buyer answer their own questions.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Very good advice. There's far too much bowing down going on these days. Reasonable precautions, make your own decisions as a responsible adult and don't get pushed into doing things just because you might get put in detention or whatever.

Councils like the climate of fear, mainly because they get £100s for every piece of paper they issue. Much of which is substandard anyway, as they just don't check or don't understand what they're checking.

I had a bloke quote me for an underground sewage treatment system. Manufacturer specs state it should be completely surrounded by concrete - basically the plastic shell is nothing other than a waterproof form to shape the concrete, which provides its strength. Potential installer told me he doesn't bother, just buries them in the soil. Also told me he emails a photo from his phone to building control, who email back a certificate. He didn't get the job obviously, but did install a neighbour's, who got a certificate. In the end I hired a bloke with a digger, ordered ready mix concrete and sorted it myself, all to manufacturer's and government standards but didn't bother with building control.

The end result is that I have one that's encased in 3 truckloads of concrete and will last forever but doesn't have paperwork. The neighbour's is a plastic liner buried in mud but is officially approved. I paid the council nothing, while the council got their fees from them but did nothing for it. They just sold them a very expensive piece of paper. But they got their money, which I suspect is their main concern.