Removing part of a load bearing wall

[hammerswinger]

Hi,
I'm after some advice on removing a part of a wall that supports an RSJ that supports the 1st floor, floor joists.

My plan diagram below shows the RSJ (Red) and the wall that it sits on, the other end of the RSJ sits into the gable end wall of the house.

We would like to remove the return part of the wall, the part coloured Green.

The Blue line is Paramount board (Plasterboard) that forms the wall between the Kitchen and Dining Room.
Once the plasterboard wall is removed it will leave the 2 brick return (Green) This return is obviously there to give support to the part of the wall that the RSJ sits on.

I'm just wondering if the 2 brick return could be removed then the remaining wall extended over to join the gable end wall of the house.
The wall would be built off the concrete oversite under the timber floor, the RSJ would stay in place with a block wall under it. ?


Thanks.


View media item 57371

 

[^woody^]

There is nothing wrong with the plan, but oversite may not be suitable (thick enough) to support a masonry wall

 

[hammerswinger]

I've edited my above post & diagram as after a bit of measuring I think the return is only 2 bricks.

So if the wall wasn't masonry how could I give support to the wall supporting the RSJ, would a pier do that ?

I need a partition wall under the RSJ regardless as this is to separate the Living Room from the Dinning Room. Rather than having a stud wall I would have liked a block wall to stop noise transmission and give a solid feel and also add some thermal mass.


Thanks.

 

[^woody^]

That wall with the beam does not need a return pier

The oversite may or may not be OK. You need to check or chance it.

You can make a stud wall more rigid and sound proof with double boards or MDF. I don't know what gains there will be with thermal mass of an internal wall

 

[hammerswinger]

Hi,
So if the wall that the RSJ is sitting on doesn't need a return pier why have we got a return on it now?

I would have thought that if the house builder could have got away without building a return they would have, given the rest of the corner cutting throughout the house.

I appreciate the stud wall advice but I just think a block walls make the place feel more solid. It's hard to explain, but it's like walking on a concrete floor compared to walking on a timber floor, you know the difference!
A block wall would also split the floors joists, so this would isolate any floor noise from the other side of the wall.

Regarding thermal mass....I just had the thought that if I had a block wall it may retain a bit of heat for longer than a plaster board wall would and this may help with the temperature fluctuations we seem to get in the house with every internal wall being paramount board.


Thanks.

 

[hammerswinger]

Can anyone tell me if the wall that the RSJ is sitting on does need a return?
I'm just wondering why it would have one if it wasn't necessary?


Thanks.

 

[tony1851]

Hi,
So if the wall that the RSJ is sitting on doesn't need a return pier why have we got a return on it now?

I would have thought that if the house builder could have got away without building a return they would have, given the rest of the corner cutting throughout the house.

From a purely structural standpoint, nine times out of ten you do NOT need a return/pier to support the ends of the steel.
Builders put them in out of conservatism, and also to avoid having to pay an engineer to do the structural calcs to prove to Bulding Control that they don't need a pier.
In your case, because of the relatively short span and low loads, you would not need one, but proving it is another matter.

 

[hammerswinger]

Thanks for that.

I have a structural engineer coming next week to look at something else so I'll ask him about it when he's here.

As mentioned in my other posts, ideally the return will be removed and the remaining wall extended over to the the gable wall of the house. I'm pretty sure I want the extended wall to be of masonry construction so maybe the oversite under the floor will have to be checked and if necessary a strip foundation laid.

Maybe if the wall was built from lightweight blocks the oversite would be adequate?


Thanks.