Many people are faced with the desire to make some adjustments to the existing apartment project. And here the question arises - which walls are load-bearing and which are ordinary partitions.
Let's be clear right away, what is a load-bearing wall? This is the wall on which structural elements located on subsequent floors rest. And what is noteworthy is that load-bearing walls can be replaced with beams and columns, since they perform the same function - supporting the integrity of the entire structure.
If the redevelopment is carried out incorrectly and the load-bearing wall is demolished, this can lead to big problems- starting with cracks in the structure and ending with the collapse of ceilings. In order to competently rebuild your apartment, you need to know in advance which walls can be demolished during redevelopment and which cannot.
Correct, competent and safe redevelopment can only be carried out by professionals - engineers and builders. Regardless of the scale of the reconstruction, be it a small niche in the wall or the demolition of an entire wall.
Therefore, the first thing that is done before planning is to invite specialists from the BTI, who must give you permission for redevelopment, which will already mark all the walls that can be changed or demolished. And only after this can you discuss the intricacies of redevelopment with builders and architects.
Also, if you get everything permits before starting work, there is a chance not to let this issue go into a long box. After all, apartments with unauthorized redevelopment cannot be sold, and if such a need suddenly arises, it is quite difficult and problematic to legalize a ready-made redevelopment. But if you are interested in knowing about the gradation of walls in an apartment before the official verdict, we will tell you a few simple ways how to do it yourself.
Methods for determining load-bearing walls
So, the first, simplest and most accurate is to find constructive plan house, which is kept in the capital construction department, which is located in the city Executive Committee, also known as the Executive Committee. There is also a technical passport of the apartment, which all apartment owners have, but you can understand it only if you know how to read construction drawings.
If you were unable to get a plan, then you can try to determine the load-bearing wall by its thickness and location.
Wall thickness
In a brick house, all walls thicker than 38 cm are load-bearing. The thickness of the walls in such houses is determined by the number of bricks laid out in a row. One brick is 12 cm, which means simple arithmetic works: 250 mm is a wall of two bricks + a 10 mm seam between them. 380 mm is a wall of three bricks + 2 joints of 10 mm each. 510 mm is a wall of four bricks + 3 joints of 10 mm each. 640 mm is a wall of five bricks + 4 joints of 10 mm each. and so on. Interior partitions They are built from brick or concrete blocks and range in thickness from 12 to 18 cm. The walls between apartments are slightly thicker - 25cm.
All walls thicker than 14 cm are load-bearing in the panel type. Unfortunately, in these types of houses it is very difficult to realize all your ideas, since most of the walls in such houses are load-bearing. Partitions in panel houses are much thinner than load-bearing walls - only 8-10 cm. There is also a nuance - the thickness of load-bearing walls in panel houses can be 12 cm, it depends on the series of the house. So what should we do? Should such a wall be considered a thickened partition or a load-bearing wall? The final answer will only be given to you by an engineer in the relevant organization that issues an opinion on the terms of reference for your project.
Wall thickness is measured excluding plaster and wallpaper. So it’s better to take measurements after all the walls have been cleaned of the old finish.
In monolithic houses there is a load-bearing wall thicker than 20 cm. The surest way for such houses is to take a floor plan from the developer. Since there is now a huge variety of design solutions, in such houses it can be very difficult to determine the load-bearing wall simply by its thickness. For example, in a monolithic frame house, there may be no load-bearing walls at all. And there are cases when a simple partition is thicker than 20cm. So just architectural plan will be able to clarify this issue.
By location
The outer walls make up the “building box” and are load-bearing. Load-bearing walls also include walls that face the flight of stairs and interior walls that face the neighboring apartment.
So, when you managed to identify the load-bearing walls in the apartment, and it turned out that they are the ones you need to change, remember: you cannot remove the load-bearing wall completely, leaving the upper floors without support. You can remove only a small part of it, and place metal supporting structures in the resulting opening, which can then be easily hidden under false beams. Or when removing an entire wall, you need to provide strong support with studs or columns. The thickness and location of which can only be determined for you by specialists when issuing permission to reconstruct the apartment.
Remember! It is very important not to neglect the opinion of professionals during redevelopment and not to engage in amateur activities, which may be fraught with consequences, not only for your apartment, but also for the apartments around you.
Load-bearing wall (Fig. 1)- the main load-bearing and enclosing vertical structure of a building, which rests on and transfers the load from the floors and the own weight of the wall to the foundation, separating adjacent rooms in the building and protecting them from impact external environment.
Self-supporting wall (Fig. 2)– external enclosing vertical structure protecting interior spaces building from the influence of the external environment, resting and transferring the load from its own weight to the foundation.
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| Fig.2. Self-supporting wall (outer wall rests on the foundation, and the ceiling is adjacent to the wall) |
Curtain wall (Fig. 3)- an external wall resting on the ceiling within one floor with a floor height of no more than 6 m. (at a higher floor height, these walls are considered self-supporting) and protect the building from the outside from the influence of the external environment.
Partition- an internal vertical enclosing curtain wall resting on the ceiling and separating adjacent rooms in the building.
In buildings with self-supporting and non-load-bearing external walls, loads from coatings, ceilings, etc. transferred to the frame or transverse structures of buildings.
In a house, the walls that stand on the foundation and on which the ceilings rest will be carriers.
And walls standing on a foundation without the ceiling resting on them will be self-supporting.
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| Fig.3. Curtain wall (external wall rests on the floor slab) |
Walls of different structural purposes carry different loads. To ensure the necessary load-bearing capacity for different walls choose a certain wall thickness and the strength of the materials used.
For example, internal and external load-bearing walls of buildings made of aerated concrete blocks with a height of up to 3 floors inclusive, it is recommended to be made from blocks of compressive strength classes not lower than B2.5, with glue or mortar of a grade not lower than M75; at a height of up to 2 floors inclusive - not lower than B2 with glue or mortar of a grade not lower than M50.
For self-supporting walls of buildings up to 3 floors high, the class of blocks must be at least B2.
From the author: Hello, dear readers. We all dearly love our home, take care of it, and make cosmetic repairs. Sometimes simple things are not enough for us finishing works, and we begin to think about remodeling the apartment. It comes in two types: either the construction of additional walls, or the demolition of some of the existing ones.
The second option is most often used. Apartments in many houses are quite small, sometimes it is almost impossible to turn around in such an area. That's why people are trying to get out of the situation with the help of redevelopment. Some people connect the kitchen and living room, some expand the area of the room by adding a loggia to it, and some simply make one large hall out of two rooms.
The problem is that not every wall can be safely damaged or removed. In any house there are load-bearing structures, without which the structure will simply collapse. Therefore, you must have information on how to find out whether a wall is load-bearing or not, so that redevelopment does not lead to huge fines or tragedy.
And before we begin, I would like to additionally draw your attention to this. After remodeling an apartment, they usually do redecorating, and, most often, on a fairly large scale. Since you are even ready to start demolishing the walls yourself, you are unlikely to want to entrust the finishing of the room to strangers.
What is a “load-bearing wall” and why is it needed?
It is called “carrying” precisely because it bears the weight of everything that is located above. It bears the load from beams, walls, ceilings and the like. Simply put, load-bearing elements represent the foundation of the building on which everything rests. If one of them is damaged or removed, the result can be very tragic - from cracks in other walls, where in this case additional load will be placed, to the collapse of the building.
That is why any redevelopment must be previously agreed upon by the BTI. As you understand, this is a necessary safety measure necessary for all people living in the house. Including for the initiators of such global repairs.
We will return to the issue of coordination in more detail a little later, but now let’s talk about how to distinguish load-bearing elements from ordinary ones, so as not to accidentally create a dangerous situation.
How to find out the location of load-bearing walls in a house?
The easiest way is to obtain a plan of your house from the Capital Construction Department (UCD). This useful drawing shows both the actual load-bearing elements and the floor slabs resting on them. A similar plan can be taken from a house book or technical passport, but everything is somewhat more complicated there; to understand it, you need to understand the drawings and have at least some experience in construction work.
If for some reason none of the plans are available to you, then you will have to involve the knowledge that you will gain from this article. But remember firmly: if there is even the slightest shadow of doubt, then do not even think about starting redevelopment without official clarification. Any mistake in this matter threatens very big troubles, and this is at best.
So, to begin with, let's denote general signs. The load-bearing walls are usually:
- demarcating your apartment from those of your neighbors;
- separating the landing from your home.
A more specific sign is the thickness of the wall, which depends on the type of house.
Panel
Almost everything is here vertical elements bear the burden. The only exceptions are some internal partitions. Their thickness is usually 80–100 mm, in some cases up to 120 mm. But from 120 mm and above - this size is already typical for load-bearing walls.
You can also navigate by the material from which the structure is made. In almost all panel houses, gypsum concrete panels are used for internal partitions. But for those that worry us most now - reinforced concrete blocks.
Brick
Here the thickness of the structures we are interested in must be at least 380 mm. But this simple approach will only help in houses built before the 90s. In newer buildings the situation may be completely different. Therefore, to accurately determine the type of walls in such houses, you still need to look official source information.
Monolithic
This type of building is a structure made using a frame made of reinforcement, which is filled with concrete. In such buildings, the main load usually falls on those walls whose thickness is at least 20 cm. But such buildings are usually made according to individual orders, so it’s still worth focusing on the house plan.
To more accurately determine the thickness, you must first clean the surface of all decorative layers: plaster, paint, wallpaper, and, especially, . Although finishing does not make such significant adjustments, it can still have a critical effect on the measurement result.
What actions can be performed with load-bearing walls?
As mentioned above, the structure that bears the main load is the basis of the entire building. Therefore, it must be handled with extreme care. To begin with, let us outline those actions that are unacceptable to perform in relation to load-bearing wall:
- demolish, as this is fraught with loss of stability of the entire building;
- move to another place - for the same reasons as in the previous paragraph;
- or pipes.
But still she is not completely untouchable. For example, you can:
- make or expand a doorway;
- drill, including through, if the hole has a small diameter.
It should be taken into account that openings can be made and expanded only after official approval from the administration. And when drilling, you should first determine whether there is wiring inside the wall. Otherwise, you can hit the drill directly into it, which threatens you with serious injuries and the apartment - without power.
How to coordinate redevelopment?
At the beginning of the article, we mentioned that any actions related to changing the layout of the apartment must first be approved by the relevant authorities. As a rule, such issues are dealt with by the Bureau of Technical Inventory (BTI). Consent is mandatory for two reasons.
Firstly, residents cannot always correctly determine the type of wall, so they begin to perform some prohibited actions with the load-bearing wall, mistaking it for internal partition. Which, as has been mentioned more than once, can become a real threat to people’s lives.
Secondly, without official permission, any redevelopment is considered illegal. This will lead to fines and to the fact that such an apartment will subsequently be impossible to sell.
To conclude the topic, we invite you to watch the video for greater clarity. Remember that only you are responsible for the actions performed in your apartment. Therefore, treat redevelopment issues extremely carefully. Good luck to you and great achievements in your renovation!
Capital renovation work, reconstruction and modernization of a building or only part of it require clarification of certain information. In order not to disrupt the integral structure and safety of the residential building, it is important to find out which walls in the apartment are load-bearing. This can be done in several ways at once. The information received should not be ignored, as it allows you to competently plan work, as well as ensure the safety of all residents apartment building after all planned work has been completed.
To define such a thing as a load-bearing wall in a two-room apartment (as well as other rooms), you can look at a special floor plan of the room. This is where it will be indicated which wall in the room is load-bearing. It is she who will have to take on all the weight, the load of all the floor slabs, beams, structures that are located above.
For each dwelling, even before its construction, a detailed plan apartments - load-bearing walls are immediately visible here. You should not ignore the fact of their presence and make a decision about modernization or reconstruction of this particular design.
How to find out which wall in an apartment is load-bearing?
If for some reason it was not possible to find a floor plan of the premises, then you can use it to determine and obvious signs. There are several of them. You can find out which walls in the apartment are load-bearing, by the thickness of the material used, the support of beams and floor slabs, as well as by the location of the structure.
Thickness
It is the load-bearing wall in one-room apartment(as well as in other rooms) thicker than the others. This is done so that the load-bearing wall three-room apartment, other housing, office withstood the serious loads of all structural elements buildings that are located above. How to determine load-bearing walls in panel house or brick, block structure? To do this, it is enough to measure the thickness of each overlap. Load-bearing wall in a four-room apartment or any other room:
- Brick - from 38 cm. This is far from the limit, thickness brick floor may be more, but not less than the specified value.
- Reinforced concrete panels - 14–20 cm. This is enough to withstand the huge load of all the structures above.
- How to determine a load-bearing wall in an apartment in monolithic house? Here, any structure whose thickness exceeds 20–30 cm will be considered the main one.
Location
How to find out if a wall in an apartment is load-bearing? To do this, you should pay attention to its position. The surface we are interested in:
- External - they are all self-supporting.
- Overlap between two adjacent living spaces.
- The ceiling that opens onto the landing.
How to determine load-bearing walls in a brick house? It is enough to use the proposed one and accept the fact that there may be several main overlaps.
Supporting beams and slabs
The slabs rest on the walls with the short side. In other words, the load-bearing wall in a four-room apartment or in another room should be located perpendicular to the beam or floor slabs.
To understand whether it is possible to demolish a load-bearing wall in an apartment, you should refer to the regulatory documentation. It strictly prohibits touching such structures, so as not to damage the integrity of the structure or trigger deformation processes. Experienced builders They know exactly how to demolish a load-bearing wall in an apartment without causing deformation of the entire building. Most often, they still won’t do this, and they will work with the rest of the partitions carefully. Before any such action, you must obtain permission from the BTI.
Load-bearing wall in a two-room Khrushchev apartment
Load-bearing walls in a Khrushchev-era two-room apartment can be found in several ways:
- The first option is to study all the technical plans and diagrams that come with the apartment.
- Second option. If there is no technical documentation, you can find out which walls in an apartment or office are load-bearing by external signs. Often they become an overlap between two different apartments. In other cases (in the vast majority), the rest can be demolished and the space can be opened up. However, in a two-room apartment common wall between various rooms can also be the main (inviolable) one, this is especially typical for spacious rooms.
- How can I find out which walls in the apartment are load-bearing, other than those indicated earlier? You definitely can’t touch those structures that separate the flight of stairs from the space of the living rooms.
In Khrushchev, the layout of the room was carried out so that the outer wall - the one connected to the balcony - was not the main one. It can be demolished and the space can be combined with a loggia. Load-bearing walls in a Khrushchev-era two-room apartment were also not installed in the bathrooms, even in separate ones. That is why, during redevelopment, such premises can be combined. The same is often done with the kitchen space adjacent to the sanitary unit.
A detailed apartment plan allows you to find load-bearing walls, but the document is not always at hand. You can find out which walls in apartments have become load-bearing using a proven method. Often it is not possible to measure the thickness of partitions with a simple ruler. You can use a drill. If one standard drill is not enough to create a through hole, then we're talking about about the main partition.
What walls can be demolished in an apartment?
You should check with a special regulatory authority to determine whether it is possible to demolish a load-bearing wall in an apartment. It is strictly forbidden to carry out such work without the knowledge of the supervisory authority!
If the walls were demolished, then this process should be legalized. Otherwise, you may earn a fine. Some cases exclude the possibility of demolition, and therefore inspection authorities may require the partition to be restored.
It is the regulatory authorities who should address the question: how to demolish a load-bearing wall in an apartment? In the vast majority of cases, such a procedure is strictly prohibited. In a panel house, as well as in a Khrushchev-era building, you can part with partitions between the kitchen and the bathroom, as well as between the bathroom and the toilet, but only after obtaining permission. It is prohibited to touch other structures. It is important to understand what a load-bearing wall in an apartment means. This is a design that does not involve its demolition.
If the wall has been partially dismantled (an arch or a small passage can be made to connect two apartments, etc.), it is important to strengthen the structure. The apartment plan clearly defines load-bearing walls, and therefore finding one with a document will not be difficult.
How is a load-bearing wall indicated on an apartment plan?
Upcoming repairs, reconstruction, or even the acquisition or sale of an apartment will require the use of technical documentation. The apartment plan created by the builders clearly indicates load-bearing walls. Often on diagrams, supporting structures are marked with a bold, double or simply thick line, which will differ significantly from others.
Important! When figuring out how load-bearing walls are indicated on the apartment plan, it is important to contact a BTI specialist for clarification. Not all main partitions are always marked with thick lines. This most often applies to those located between two apartments or throughout the entire room. Similar partitions may also be present inside it.
In an effort to find out how load-bearing walls are indicated on the apartment plan, you should contact the regulatory authorities. Some cases require calling a specialist to your home to get the most accurate and complete answer.
How to find out which wall is load-bearing in an apartment can be found using the following documents:
- BTI technical passport. It is this kind of document that is more detailed, since it can contain clarifications regarding the main structures, as well as explanations about the year of construction and the selected materials for carrying out such work. It also indicates not only which walls in the apartment are designated load-bearing, but also the parameters of the room.
- Step by step plan. This document is not always able to completely clarify the situation. The presented drawing often does not have explanations, extracts, or clarifications. The plan is simply presented here, and its accuracy will depend largely on the master who compiled it. How to determine the load-bearing wall in an apartment in this case? To clarify, you should use the information that will be provided above - measure the thickness, find out the method of supporting the beams, the location of the partition.
How do you know if a wall in an apartment chosen for demolition is definitely load-bearing? Invite a specialist from BTI if there is no plan. You can go to see him if you have a plan in hand.
Everything is presented much simpler by modern developers. The plan often shows which walls in the apartment are load-bearing. Often the document is presented in color. Here the structure of interest to the owner is indicated in red. The developer himself is often ready to tell you what a load-bearing wall in an apartment means and what function it performs. Some modern layouts are presented in free style- without single partition. The secret is that there are no internal load-bearing walls in the room, and therefore reconstruction is easy to carry out.
Load-bearing wall in one-room apartments
How to find out which walls in an apartment are load-bearing if the apartment has only one room? The simplest possible configuration does not require a large number of main partitions. Often a load-bearing wall in a one-room apartment is one that:
- Connects two different apartments - an adjacent panel.
- Separates the living space from the stairs.
- Goes out into the street. If the room is corner, it may have two or more external walls, which will be load-bearing.
How to determine load-bearing walls in a panel house? Often they are no different from those indicated in a block, brick structure.
Load-bearing wall in two-room apartments
Owners of multi-room housing are interested in how to find out whether the apartment has a load-bearing wall or not. It is important to answer this question, because often in their own homes owners try to increase usable space precisely due to the demolition of partitions. Serious redevelopment of living space will require clarification. How to find out where the load-bearing walls in a two-room apartment are?
With such housing, not everything is as simple as with one-room apartments. There is often more than one load-bearing wall in a two-room apartment. She:
- Connects different apartments - becomes an adjacent partition. There are as many walls as there are adjacent separate living spaces.
- It can delimit the space of the kitchen and other rooms.
- Often becomes an external wall.
If the rooms inside the apartment are spacious, there may also be load-bearing walls between them, but often this is not the case. That is why it is possible to redesign the internal space of residential premises, to connect them with the corridor, but not with technical premises. Experienced master who undertakes redevelopment knows exactly how to determine load-bearing walls in a brick house, monolith or block building.
Load-bearing wall in three-room apartments
If redevelopment is required during the work, a floor plan will be required. It is important to know how to determine the load-bearing wall in an apartment so as not to disturb the skeleton of the entire building. Often a three ruble is typical scheme room locations:
- One small one is located separately, and two spacious ones are located not far from each other.
- Premises can be dispersed throughout different parts Houses.
- There are options that provide for complete isolation of rooms from each other.
- The bathrooms are located nearby, and not far from the kitchen area.
- There may be one or two balconies. Some Czech projects provide for a single large balcony for two rooms.
Since there are always many rooms, there is always more than one load-bearing wall in a three-room apartment. This is necessarily the one that serves as the overlap between two apartments, landing and goes outside. Some types of layouts also provide main structures between the bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms.
Load-bearing wall in four-room apartments
If redevelopment is to be done, it is important not to touch the main partition. How to find out where load-bearing walls are located in an apartment? Use the plan to determine the thickness of the structures. In a panel house it reaches 14–20 cm, in a brick house - from 38 cm, and in a monolithic house they may not be there at all. In such rooms, the main panels may be inter-apartment panels, interior panels and those that connect the staircase and living space.
Often, instead of walls in a monolithic house, pylons and columns are used, which can cope with serious loads.
It is also important for owners to take into account the years of construction of buildings. IN Soviet times all the structures were standard, and therefore, in the absence of a plan, you can look into the neighbor’s. But since the beginning of the nineties they have been used individual projects when creating residential complexes, and therefore it is impossible to do without measuring the thickness of the walls. It is important to clean them from layers of plaster and other materials before such work.
How to find out if the walls in an apartment are load-bearing?
To do this, masters can use various methods:
- Tapping - the sound of a thick ceiling is much quieter than a simple partition. However, masters will not rely only on their own hearing.
- Drilling. How to determine load-bearing walls in a panel house, brick or monolithic, without a plan? Just measure the thickness. The easiest option is to drill into the wall. A standard drill bit should be enough to get through a simple partition.
- Material - often brick was used for laying, reinforced concrete wall, cinder block, wood, foam block is not used for such purposes, especially in high-rise buildings.
What does it mean: load-bearing walls in an apartment?
How to find out which walls in an apartment are load-bearing? Use the plan or the options suggested above to determine. The found central panels cannot be demolished because they:
They take on almost the entire load of the upper floors.
Responsible for the integrity of the building. Without such panels, any load can be fatal.
Ensure the safety of all living people. Without partitions to take on the entire load, even the strongest building can easily collapse like a house of cards.
Making an independent decision about the need to demolish a structure that bears the load is unacceptable. There are no uniform parameters for determining inviolable panels - much will depend on the parameters of the material used, the height of the building, the year of its construction and the layout of the interior.
Is it possible to demolish a load-bearing wall in an apartment?
Having found technical documentation or having otherwise determined the location of the load-bearing wall, the property owner will wonder whether it is possible to demolish them. BTI categorically prohibits performing such work, and this applies not only to the main panels, but also to those that connect the living space to each other. Touching load-bearing walls is strictly prohibited.
It is possible to remove the interfering wall, but only in certain situations:
- If an equally strong supporting structure is installed that can replace the panel. This option is suitable for Khrushchev and brick houses, but not all of them. To make a final decision, you need to inspect and study the technical documentation.
- Only partially - make a passage, an opening, an arch, but strengthen the remaining elements and only after receiving the appropriate permission from the regulatory authorities.
- In a panel and monolithic house, you cannot touch the walls at all. In rare cases, the BTI allows removing partitions between the bathroom and toilet.
If a person owns two adjacent apartments, he also cannot remove the partition between them. This will invariably weaken the ceiling. If a doorway is made here, it must be significantly strengthened with special structures.
Do not neglect the need to take measurements. You should also not miss the opportunity to receive comments from BTI specialists. Only a professional will be able to say exactly what kind of object the owner is dealing with. After assessing the condition of the property, a ban on its reconstruction or recommendations for work will be given. They are documented.
Having found out which walls in the apartment are load-bearing, do not forget about basic safety. Even the fact that such a panel has been demolished by a neighbor does not give the right to remove it in his own apartment. The gradual removal of partitions increases the level of danger, and therefore living in a house without load-bearing structures dangerous. There is no point in risking your own or other people's lives. For clarification and obtaining permits, you can always contact the BTI.
Let's say you saw how luxuriously your neighbors, who are about to move into it, have remodeled their apartment, but your new home has not yet reached the renovation stage. So, the first thing you definitely need to do is find out how to determine whether a load-bearing wall is or not.
Some residents believe that in new houses there is no such concept, and this phenomenon - a load-bearing wall - is just a relic of the Soviet way of building residential buildings. Don't believe it! A load-bearing wall is any wall that takes on the weight of some other structure. It doesn’t matter at all what it will be, because the main thing is that it is above the carrier.
In most modern new buildings, all the walls that are located around the perimeter of the apartment are load-bearing, since the ceiling evenly distributes the load on each of them. But don't rush to conclusions. It is more likely that the load-bearing walls were chosen by the chief architect taking into account the peculiarities of communications, or some other reasons shaped the layout of the building.
First, let's look at ways to distinguish a load-bearing wall from an ordinary dividing wall, based on the type of house: brick, monolithic, panel.
Yes, I definitely have a brick house. Where is the load-bearing wall?
If you know for sure that your house was made of brick, and you do not have access to see the direction of the interfloor slabs, then determining the load-bearing wall will be much easier, based on its thickness. It will exceed the mark of 38 centimeters. This wall is the most powerful in a residential area.
Do not forget that not only an interior wall, but also an exterior wall can be a load-bearing wall. This refers to structures that face the street on one side. Windows can be built into them, and a little later I will explain how this is possible.
Does a monolithic house have a load-bearing wall?
Naturally, even in a monolithic house there are certain parts of it that are subject to a more serious load than the rest.
Due to the fact that monolithic houses do not have any standard options and are unique buildings in all their forms, you will encounter a problem that only the author of the building can help solve. In any case, if you are planning a redevelopment, you need permission from certain authorities that will give the go-ahead for the demolition or deformation of any walls in your apartment.
What to do with a panel house?
If you are the happy owner of a residential property in a panel house that has just been built, you have simplified your task in finding load-bearing walls. Yes, someone thinks that panel houses- this is not the best that the world has come up with, but their versatility and practicality will give odds to any of their fellows.
In houses of this type, the wall you need can be found quite easily. The load-bearing ones will be those whose thickness exceeds fifteen centimeters, external walls buildings and their inter-apartment analogues.
Walls that are less than ten centimeters thick can easily be destroyed or partially demolished. Naturally, it all depends on your desires and design decisions.
Universal for all types of houses
In any type of house, be it panel or brick, the load-bearing walls will be those that are located perpendicular to the slab placed on top of them. That is why they receive most of the load on themselves and in no case can be completely destroyed. Is it possible partially? Yes, but it’s too early to talk about this.
You can’t just take half the apartment and demolish it
Now you know how to find out what you need. But, dear reader, if you are planning to redevelop an apartment, this process must be legalized. I'll explain why. You see, any change in the position of the rooms and, accordingly, the partitions between them affects the square footage of the living space, which can further affect the price of your property in the event of sale.
Speaking in simple language, you simply may lose money due to the fact that you did not arrange the redevelopment on time. In addition, no buyer would want to enter into a purchase agreement for a property that does not have a floor plan that is accurate. Moreover, not a single notary will agree to formalize this transaction, since, in principle, your apartment does not exist, and in its place there is something unknown to anyone.
Another reason for the prohibition of amateur performances in terms of solving this issue is that, due to ignorance, it is possible to block not only the walls own apartment, but also the whole house. There have been numerous cases when the slightest deformation of a load-bearing wall led to the complete destruction of multi-story buildings.
Why did this happen? This, like many problems of humanity, happens from complete ignorance and irresponsibility. Harmless transfer process front door half a meter to the side can deprive people of not only a roof over their heads, but also lead to casualties.
What about doors and windows?
The question may arise in everyone’s head about why, with such a heavy load, it is possible to install doors and windows quite adequately and reliably. This is where everyone’s least favorite university subject, “Strength of Materials,” comes into play. This is exactly the moment when calculations and calculations help a person.
Just like when building a bridge, the weight is distributed evenly across all supports. When erecting a house, the slabs are laid with the expectation that a large weight will be distributed equally throughout the solid parts of the structure in order to preserve the cavities intended for windows and doors. This is why moving on your own can lead to disaster.
Naturally, there is a solution
You can always find a way out of any situation, and this problem was no exception. The first and only thing you should definitely do is seek help from experienced and, most importantly, qualified specialists. In this matter, it is not enough that the master will say: “We have done this a hundred times.” The hundred and first may not work out.
Under no circumstances should you start making cavities or removing load-bearing walls yourself! This can only be done by a specially trained person. Do not forget that only the decision of certain authorities can allow you to redevelop your apartment, since in this case you will receive new documents corresponding to the new plan.
What can you do with a load-bearing wall?
There are several ways that will lead to excellent design solutions and expansion of living space or its more rational use.
The first thing you can do is install decorated columns. Some consider this thing slightly inconvenient, based on the uselessness of the “post in the middle of the room.” However, the right interior design will help the columns fit into general form apartments. A separate question if you are making columns not at home, but in an office space, creating something like Open Space ( open space) for your employees or freelancers distracted from the general business.
If you just want to expand the room, then it is better to do it visually. You can increase the space of a room using mirrors, light wallpaper or paint, reducing the amount of bulky furniture in the form of grandma’s closets and mezzanines, which are lined up in three or even four rows.
Also consider decorative arches that don't create closed space, as doors do, and visually expand the volume of the room. An arch is not an ordinary semicircular structure that is designed to simply be walked through. IN in capable hands and with the participation experienced designer even the most hopeless object can turn into a work of art.
This is what we got
Let's draw a line under what we just discussed. To independence we say: “Basta!”, and accept correct solution. Incorrect placement of a load-bearing wall is not a death sentence, but only a small task for the imagination and flight of fancy. Don't be afraid to experiment and take risks. Only then will you taste the champagne of victory in your new luxurious abode.