Is this load bearing?

[Agn00uk]

Hi, I recently bought a 1930s house that needs a fair bit of work that I am getting through slowly. My next project is to put a door in the living room to separate the front door from the living room because at the moment anyone at the front door can look straight through. There was an archway in place and I stripped it down to the bones so I could see what is happening and now I am wondering if I can remove this wooden structure to move the new doorway back a bit to give a larger space by the front door. My only concern is whether or not this wooden framing is load bearing. I have researched as much as I can and I don’t believe it is because:

1. It runs parallel to the joists
2. One side is only set into the wall by about a couple of centimetres (if that) so not sure if it could bear any load.
3. There is nothing directly above it just lathes (the pictures with red circles).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JohnD]

I don't understand your first three pictures. Which way is up, and what do they show? Stand back a bit to show their location.

Picture 1 appears to show a joist that is not built into a wall. Is it a floor joist?

The house was probably originally built with a door. Can you work out where it used to be?

Wider pictures of the whole wall, please.

 

[RandomGrinch]

I don't understand your first three pictures. Which way is up, and what do they show?

3. There is nothing directly above it just lathes (the pictures with red circles).

If there are only laths above, it wouldn't be load bearing. It could offer some lateral support, but usually there would also be diagonals.
It's not clear from your photos how the wall junction is formed, opposite the door.
As John says above...
Could you post a wider picture please?

 

[Agn00uk]

Hi John,

Thank you for your post.

The first pictures are where I lifted the upstairs floorboard and found the top of the wood with lathes across it. I tried my best to circle where that wood is situated at it from upstairs.

I think the wooden structure is the top of where the door used to be. I am sorry, i don’t know the technical names of things.

again, thank you for your post!

 

[Notch7]

Hi John,

Thank you for your post.

The first pictures are where I lifted the upstairs floorboard and found the top of the wood with lathes across it. I tried my best to circle where that wood is situated at it from upstairs.

I think the wooden structure is the top of where the door used to be. I am sorry, i don’t know the technical names of things.

again, thank you for your post!

youve done the right thing -lifted the floorboards above

and the answer is: its not structural

judging by the crack in the ceiling, theres a risk you might pull down the lathe and plaster though -beware that is pretty messy

 

[Agn00uk]

Hi Random Grinch,

Apologies, the best picture I can get is this. (My house is full of bits to do the house up) Directly opposite the front door are the stairs and there is a hollow cement brick wall to the right. I have drawn the layout as best I can.

Thank you for your post!

 

[Agn00uk]

youve done the right thing -lifted the floorboards above

and the answer is: its not structural

judging by the crack in the ceiling, theres a risk you might pull down the lathe and plaster though -beware that is pretty messy

Hi notch7,

That crack is a bit dramatic! Thank you for the warning! I guess it wouldn’t hurt to remove the lathe and plaster as it is pretty worn! Thank you for your advice on the wooden structure! I have been reading about it for most of the day and just couldn’t figure it out!

Thank you!

 

[RandomGrinch]

Apologies, the best picture I can get is this. (My house is full of bits to do the house up) Directly opposite the front door are the stairs and there is a hollow cement brick wall to the right. I have drawn the layout as best I can.

Thanks for the extra photo.
As @Notch7 , it's not load bearing.

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to remove the lathe and plaster as it is pretty worn!

You could always overboard first, if you don't want too much mess!

 

[Agn00uk]

Thanks for the extra photo.
As @Notch7 , it's not load bearing.


You could always overboard first, if you don't want too much mess!

Just had to google “overboard” and that seems 100% the easier option!

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[JohnD]

It's possible that when the house was built, there used to be another wall giving passageway access to the kitchen and back room. Sometimes you can tell because the hall floor is different to the front room. Having a cottage design where the front door, front room, and hallway all open off each other will cause terrible waste of heat.

Is the front room about 12 foot square (typical for a small 1930's terrace)?

 

[Agn00uk]

12ft square sounds about right!

For some reason the person(s) who owned the property before me removed all the downstairs doors so I can have the heating on full blast and it never gets warm. I am hoping by installing some more doors the heat loss will be reduced (and my heating bill).

Thank you for you for taking a look JohnD.