Removing a wall in your house can be an extremely tricky thing. If you remove a wall that isn’t meant to be removed, it can affect the structural integrity of your entire home.
You may want to remove a wall to renovate a kitchen or bathroom, or to open up a small space to create an open plan living, read more to learn how to safely remove walls in your home.
Before doing anything to your walls, you should first seek advise from a structural engineer. One of our experienced engineers can perform an assessment of your walls and advise which walls can be removed safely. Keep in mind, it is much harder to remove a wall from a two-story home, as more of the walls on the bottom floor are likely to be weight bearing.
Do I need a permit?
This will vary depending on individual council requirements and the type of wall. The rule of thumb is that if it’s not a structural wall, a permit is not required. Exterior walls typically have their own set of rules.
Where do we come in?
Single storey or the upper floor of a two storey
Our experienced engineers get into the roof space and review the roof structure. We find the location of the wall to determine if the wall is load bearing, if the wall is load bearing we design a beam to span over the opening to maintain structural integrity after the walls removal.
Double storey timber frame
You will need to create an access point through the ceiling near the wall that is being removed, from the access point we review the construction of the floor. If the wall is load bearing we design a beam for the span to protect the integrity of the home.
Double storey concrete slab
We undertake an inspection of area to be renovated and get tributary area of slab on the walls to be removed. If engineering plans are provided we will review them accordingly. From the available information and our slab assessment, we design new beams to protect the home if necessary.
Don’t make the mistake of trying to remove walls yourself or with unlicensed builders, protect yourself and your home by contacting one of our experienced structural engineers first. Contact us today to see how we can help!
Back to News