is it or isnt it, that is the question!?!?!?!?

[spoonie]

hiya

i am a lil damsell in distress..... i live in a mid terrace house. upstairs in my bedroom, i want to knock the wall between bedroom and the bathroom down and move it back a little bit to give me a bigger bedroom and then half my bathroom to build an ensuite.....
i can be a little hands on some times and like to give things ago myself...

however, i do not know if it is a supporting wall or not...
how can i tell?????

 

[noseall]

have a look in the loft and determine whether the wall is carrying the ceiling joists, a ceiling binder or carries on up to support a purlin or truss member.

the wall may also offer lateral restraint to its adjoining walls. this may mean leaving nibs or sticky out bits, thus not allowing you to cut the wall all the way back flush to the adjoining walls.

 

[spoonie]

ok, i will do this but could you tell me what im looking for... basically what does the joist look like??? this is probably basic stuff for your guys... but a first for me...

 

[noseall]

the ceiling joists are the individual linear timber members that support or cradle the ceiling. these are usually spaced at 400mm (16"), 450mm (18") and 600mm (24").

these span the entire ceiling and are connected to the rafter ends. the rafters are the diagonal roof members that form the slope to the roof and carry the roof tiles.

the rafters are sometimes supported mid-span or 1/3rd spans by a purlin/s. this is usually a hefty timber that is carried by the dividing walls or gable end walls.

 

[spoonie]

so if there is a wall in the ceiling going up to the roof beams then then its a supporitng wall???

how do u know if the wall is carrying the joists or not???

sorry to be so daft, just dont want my house to fall down.... lol

 

[^woody^]

In a terrace, ceiling joists will normally go front to back.

If your bathroom is in line with the bedrooms front to back, then it may or may not support the joists

If the bathroom is between the bedroom an the neighbours (more likely for a terrace), then it wont support the joists, but it may be holding up something going across the house - a purlin or something.

Go in the loft, find the top of the wall and see if there is anything resting on it that with goes vertically, or goes across between the neighbours walls

I suspect this wall may be the one which runs down the side of the landing too. It may support a purlin by way of a wall in the loft or a vertical or angled timber post

Have a look and let us know

 

[spoonie]

yeh that is how it looks for below... will go in the loft tomoz and get back to u guys tomoz... thanks so much for your help.......