Removing interior wall, do I need to worry

[paganskins]

I've had a couple of builders look at removing an interior wall, the second wants to put steel in but it seems unnecessary in this instance.

Apologies in advance in the following is confusing

House is a smallish 60s semi with the joists running longways front to back, the wall in question runs in line with the joists front to halfway back.

There is a wall on the first floor following the same line but built on the joist and not the downstairs wall continuing upwards, so bottom to top it's:

concrete floor, downstairs wall, joist, weirdly upstairs floor boards*, 1st floor wall

*as best I can tell by pulling the upstairs skirting

The opening under the joist would be about 9ft with the joist tied into the front wall and crossing another interior wall about halfway back.

There's a precedent for removing this wall in similar houses in the estate (including my in-laws 20yrs ago) and we've not heard any disasters caused by doing so.

Also the said builder didn't seem to believe me that the joists ran front to back rather than side to side which I assume is more common?

Is he just being cautious/bumping the price up or should I check with a structural engineer before proceeding?

Thanks

 

[noseall]

I bet the upstairs walls are 3" partition block walls?

These walls would often continue into the loft by an inch or so, allowing the ceiling plasterboard to trap the wall at the top.

You can check by measuring the casings or by having a look in the loft.

I have seen many instances where these are built off a floor joist, usually sprung off a timber sole plate.

However, there is often a wall either directly below or slightly off set. Whether this is to lend support or just coincidence is another thing, though i have seen instances where there are no walls at all below. I have also seen some pretty tired looking joists beneath these walls also.

The fact that identical houses to your have done this with no ill effects does bode well.

 

[paganskins]

I bet the upstairs walls are 3" partition block walls?

These walls would often continue into the loft by an inch or so, allowing the ceiling plasterboard to trap the wall at the top.

You can check by measuring the casings or by having a look in the loft.

I have seen many instances where these are built off a floor joist, usually sprung off a timber sole plate.

However, there is often a wall either directly below or slightly off set. Whether this is to lend support or just coincidence is another thing, though i have seen instances where there are no walls at all below. I have also seen some pretty tired looking joists beneath these walls also.

The fact that identical houses to your have done this with no ill effects does bode well.

Yes they do appear to be 3" blocks

My father in laws experience I think did include timber at the bottom of the downstairs wall.

The upstairs wall in ours seem to have be rendered down to floor level, whether there's block right down to the floor I'm not sure yet. Thinking about it when I pulled the skirting back a bit it didn't make a nail pulled from timber groan so perhaps it's block.

Also worth mentioning is where the four downstairs rooms meet at the corner of the kitchen the wall is thicker, almost like a pillar. The walls don't line up so this could just be due to that rather than for extra structural strength I suppose.

Thanks for your thoughts