Wall Revmoval

[modmonkey]

I've just moved into a maisonette, which is the upper part of an old terraced house, and has a basement flat below. The place needs a lot of work and I've just found out, the one load bearing wall downstairs is stud wall, and also has an arch in it to make the whole of the dowstairs open planned. The chimney stack downstairs has also been removed with no support for the existing part above. As there are no solid walls downstairs to fit an RSJ, can anyone advise me what options are available to make it secure and conform to regulations. I can't build a load bearing solid wall because the downstairs basement flat also has been made open plan and would be too heavy for their ceiling. Please help!

Thanks,

Alan

 

[voicey]

Didn't the surveyor pick these things up before you bought it?

 

[modmonkey]

Well....I wasn't as detailed. It didn't pick up the fact that the central load bearing wall was a stud wall, and obviously didn't look in the fat below due to access. I knew it needed work, but am just hoping there is a solution. I have a friend who is a surveyor who will look at it for me at some point, and was talking of putting something in the loft to hold it up. But he hasn't seen it yet. Just was wondering if anyone else had had a similar problem and what was done about it.

 

[masona]

Can't say without seeing it, if worse come to worse you may have to have a longer RSJ chopped into 2 outer wall or resting on a brick pier.