Structural question..reducing supporting wall size ?

[hammerswinger]

Hi,
As part of my ongoing single story rear extension on my house we have decided that we would like to reduce the size on the centre piece of wall on the back of the house (A on the diagram) This wall is currently 3 bricks long and we wanted to reduce it by 1 brick so that when the kitchen is knocked through the wall will not project into the room as much.

The BCO told us we would need structural calculations so we got a SE to take a look, he told us that the wall would have to be removed and rebuilt as a solid pillar at 440mm x 215mm.

I've been thinking about it and just wondered that if I added a single brick return to the wall (B on the diagram) would that allow me to reduce the wall to 2 bricks without having to have it all knocked down and rebuilt.


Cheers.

View media item 46088

 

[^woody^]

You'll need to ask your engineer who presumably knows about the loadings

In general terms, I can't see how you can reduce a pier to two bricks, and then bond in a return wall, and it all be nicely tied and load spreading.

Either way, the pier will need rebuilding

 

[hammerswinger]

Hi,
I have the calculations that the SE produced that say I would need a solid pier, it needs a new foundation etc, by building this pier there will be no projection at all into the kitchen. I would be happy with a slight projection if it made the job easier.

Before the SE became involved I asked the BCO about reducing the wall to 2 bricks, I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines that I probably would have been able to do it if the stud wall (shown in Green) had been a brick wall. That's why I was thinking that if I could fix a butrus return to the wall that it would give it more stability as that seemed to be the main concern with reducing it. I appreciate that a butrus wall would need a new foundation etc, but this could be done without knocking down the external wall.

Cheers.

 

[^woody^]

What has that green bit at A got to do with the pier at B?

 

[hammerswinger]

The Green line at A is the current stud wall (Paramount Board stud wall) this is obviously giving no support to the 3 brick wall so this would be removed and a brick single leaf wall would replace it.

Hope you follow.


Cheers.

 

[^woody^]

So that image is not a plan view of the whole extension with a pier at A and another pier at B, but rather B is your alternative option for A?

 

[hammerswinger]

Sorry if I'm confusing you, Yes B is the alternative option for A.

The plan is of the rear walls of the house as it stands now, the extension is not shown.

A is a 3 brick cavity wall (blocks on the inner leaf), this is what I would like to reduce to 2 bricks, the SE has drawn up the calculations that say the pier would have to be removed and rebuilt as a solid structure of 2 bricks x 1 brick (440mm x 215mm) the stud wall that comes from the wall isn't important.

I just wondered if I could introduce a butrus return in place of the stud wall that would add stability to the 3 brick wall, and if this would allow me to reduce the length of the wall from 3 bricks to 2 bricks without having to knock it down and rebuild it as a solid pier.

Cheers.