Demolishing a solid cupboard

[Sprogginz]

I want to demolish this cupboard in a bedroom. The wall at the back is a party wall. It was used to house a hot water tank. The construction sounds very solid but not made of brick (from what I can see) so not sure what it's made of - Concrete? I think the house was built in 1970.

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• Sprogginz
• 15 Apr 2015
• 1

Is it possible that it could be load bearing?

What's the normal procedure to dismantle something like this? There's plently of advice and videos of walls but not a solid cupboard. Do I simply buy a lump hammer and then chip away when I get close to the walls?

Thanks very much and hope you can help.

 

[OwainDIYer]

You need to go up in the loft (or lift the floorboards in the room above) and see where the joists run.

If the joists run across the wall - especially if they join over the wall - then it's probably load-bearing. It might also be supporting your cold water tank if you have one. Tanks are seriously heavy and if it's over the wall may need to be resited or the joists strengthed.

You need to prop the ceiling up and start demolishing the wall from the top.

It's usually only a few hundred quid for a builder to knock something like that out.