load bearing wall or not ?

[greenie]

Hi all,

At present we have a wall that separates our kitchen/diner and lounge.
The wall runs the width of the house, it has a door that goes from lounge to kitchen/diner and a door that goes into the pantry, it also runs underneath the top section of the stairs (stairs run above the pantry)

The door that goes from the lounge to the kitchen/diner is situated in the right hand third of the wall.

I plan to block up the existing door opening and fit double doors in the centre of the wall.

I will create a complete new opening that will start approx 10cm away from the existing opening.

I have removed some plaster to see what the wall is made from. It is breeze block from the floor all the way up and then finished with a row of bricks sitting on the top.

The joists run in the same direction as the wall.
There is no solid wall upstairs that runs parallel to the said downstairs wall.

Any advise as to wether this wall is load bearing or not and any general advise would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Marc.

 

[bathjobby]

The joists run in the same direction as the wall.

On both sides ? It is not uncommon to have joists running in different directions.

 

[Static]

If the stairs are close to the wall, you may find trimming joists each side of the opening that sit on your wall.