Internal wall removal - buttressing?

[jon4727]

I want to remove a ground floor internal wall constructed of brick. This wall does not appear to be supporting anything on top. I have lifted floorboards to check, and I can see the top of the bricks all the way along.

Do I need to worry about whether this wall is providing support to the adjoining walls (the chimney breast and an exterior wall)? I'm not sure whether this is a 'technical' question or whether it is usually OK to leave say 1 foot at either end. Do I need to use a structural engineer to assess this or get Building Regulations permission? Everything I have found online seems to be concerned with whether an internal wall is supporting anything from underneath.

 

[John D v2.0]

If there's a chimney breast it would be a buttress in itself, so you wouldn't need more. It would only be if the external wall was unusually long with no other returns on it.

 

[jon4727]

The external wall is around 5.5 m long, it is the 'end of terrace' exterior wall of the semi-detached property and contains the front door opening. It has no other adjoining internal walls (returns?).

What I have noticed, after removing some plaster, is that at some point in the past exterior wall and internal wall have shifted a few mm relative to each other, as if the exterior wall has settled. So it may be questionable whether there is very much effective buttressing going on anyway. I will try to show this with a sketch (attached).

 

[^woody^]

Do I need to worry about whether this wall is providing support to the adjoining walls
whether it is usually OK to leave say 1 foot at either end.
Do I need to use a structural engineer to assess this
or get Building Regulations permission?

No
No
No
Maybe, if it affects fire safety and means of escape.