My house is a Victorian terrace built in 1869. In the middle of the house there as two 4.5" brick walls that run from the ground up to the upstairs ceiling but not through the loft to the roof.
Between the two walls is the stair case. on the ground floor the two walls both have doorways at the bottom of the stair case and also under the stair case (think cupboard under the stairs) then upstairs there are doorways at the top of the stairs and also immediately above the foot of the stairs (cupboards). So its only the center section of wall that runs up without any breaks in it. Hopefully that makes sense!
Over the years the layout of the house has changed, so now at the top of the stairs where you used to turn left for bedroom one, and right for bedroom two with bedroom through through bed 2. You now turn right to a hallway with a bathroom and small bedroom before coming to bedroom 3.
The loft hatch is at the top of the stairs between the two walls. When the ladder is down it extends through what was once a doorway to the hallway. Although there is no door the opening is still the same height as a doorway ie it does not finish flush at the ceiling. This means it can be very awkward getting up the ladder to the loft. I would like to remove the small section of wall above this old doorway to improve access to the loft. I know I will need to support the joist that is resting on it. However if i take this piece of wall out which is about 2ft 6 wide and 1ft high. Am I going to weaken the structure of the house. As I said there is no wall above this, and below it is a doorway and below that another doorway.
I had a builder quote me to do this (£850 - hence i would rather do it myself) and he didn't seem to think it would cause any issues. I am more than capable of doing the work I am just concerned about weakening the wall if it is structural.
Anyway sorry this is so long!
Between the two walls is the stair case. on the ground floor the two walls both have doorways at the bottom of the stair case and also under the stair case (think cupboard under the stairs) then upstairs there are doorways at the top of the stairs and also immediately above the foot of the stairs (cupboards). So its only the center section of wall that runs up without any breaks in it. Hopefully that makes sense!
Over the years the layout of the house has changed, so now at the top of the stairs where you used to turn left for bedroom one, and right for bedroom two with bedroom through through bed 2. You now turn right to a hallway with a bathroom and small bedroom before coming to bedroom 3.
The loft hatch is at the top of the stairs between the two walls. When the ladder is down it extends through what was once a doorway to the hallway. Although there is no door the opening is still the same height as a doorway ie it does not finish flush at the ceiling. This means it can be very awkward getting up the ladder to the loft. I would like to remove the small section of wall above this old doorway to improve access to the loft. I know I will need to support the joist that is resting on it. However if i take this piece of wall out which is about 2ft 6 wide and 1ft high. Am I going to weaken the structure of the house. As I said there is no wall above this, and below it is a doorway and below that another doorway.
I had a builder quote me to do this (£850 - hence i would rather do it myself) and he didn't seem to think it would cause any issues. I am more than capable of doing the work I am just concerned about weakening the wall if it is structural.
Anyway sorry this is so long!
