Do I really, really need a windpost?

[humblenovice]

Hi All,

I know this seems to be a rather evergreen question on here - but I have a dilemma in relation to our house renovation (and the fascinating lives of Structural Engineers).

We are knocking through an internal wall, and have had a qualified SE to come and confirm that there was no beam required to support any load above. However, this SE also then stated that we would need to either leave 550m of a section abutting the exterior wall, or install a windpost, for lateral support. We later had a surveyor round (to measure for windows) who claimed to have considerable experience with structural calculations (but either retired or not an SE), who suggested that this was unnecessary and that the first SE was being over-cautious. We would much prefer to remove the whole of the wall (as architecturally it makes sense for the kitchen layout etc.), but we don't have funds for a whole wind post install.

So now we are looking for a second SE to assess, but I'm a bit concerned that a lot seem to be 'overcautious' with these calculations, and we are going to pay twice for the same ('incomplete'?) advice, and still end up with a mildly flawed finish. So I'd love to hear your opinions please? (I gather @tony1851 seems to be a resident expert here!)

There is a diagram of the ground floor attached to indicate the wall to be removed. All the green walls are cavity walls - the RHS is a 2-storey extension, the LHS is a party wall as we are semi-detached. I'm not sure what other details would be needed, but obviously happy to provide whatever I can!

 

[noseall]

Hi All,

I know this seems to be a rather evergreen question on here - but I have a dilemma in relation to our house renovation (and the fascinating lives of Structural Engineers).

We are knocking through an internal wall, and have had a qualified SE to come and confirm that there was no beam required to support any load above. However, this SE also then stated that we would need to either leave 550m of a section abutting the exterior wall, or install a windpost, for lateral support. We later had a surveyor round (to measure for windows) who claimed to have considerable experience with structural calculations (but either retired or not an SE), who suggested that this was unnecessary and that the first SE was being over-cautious. We would much prefer to remove the whole of the wall (as architecturally it makes sense for the kitchen layout etc.), but we don't have funds for a whole wind post install.

So now we are looking for a second SE to assess, but I'm a bit concerned that a lot seem to be 'overcautious' with these calculations, and we are going to pay twice for the same ('incomplete'?) advice, and still end up with a mildly flawed finish. So I'd love to hear your opinions please? (I gather @tony1851 seems to be a resident expert here!)

There is a diagram of the ground floor attached to indicate the wall to be removed. All the green walls are cavity walls - the RHS is a 2-storey extension, the LHS is a party wall as we are semi-detached. I'm not sure what other details would be needed, but obviously happy to provide whatever I can!

We have a job in the summer whereby the masonry piers (between openings) we will be building, require stability wind posts (Ancon) building in.

 

[stevie888]

Trust a double glazing guy or an SE? Hmmmm.

Nobody on a forum can give you a definitive answer, and at the end of the day the only opinion that matters is BC when they check the proposals