Removal of Internal Walls
We’ve wanted to extend our living room by removing the hallway wall for some time.
It appears to be plasterboard only, but I’m concerned there maybe some steel load bearing supports inside?
I get the impression from this site (and from what I’ve been told) that the internal walls in BISF houses can be removed without problem, but would welcome some advice to confirm this?
Thanks, Sean
Thanks for the confirmation, I now feel more confident to tackle the work myself! (-We have a porch by-the-way, which reduces heat loss, and removed the hall door a long time ago!)
I guess it depends on how you like to live, but for me on of the big advantages of a BISF house is having a hall that gives access to the kitchen without having to go through the sitting room or dining room!
There is no structural problem removing the wall as the only internal wall with structural elements is the one through the centre of the house. You will lose a little more heat without it as typically the hallway is cooler because it has exterior walls so your new enlarged living room will have two exterior walls rather than one.
Personally I would find having a diagonal wall and door like that right next to the front door very strange!
In this next image you can see what is left behind when the wall is down. It is taken from the BBC’s Big Build Dartford episode. This is one of the before photos. Heres a link to some more images. http://nonstandardhouse.com/featured/diy-sos-renovate-a-bisf-house-in-dartford/
Ignore the view count on the page, they all set to zero when we changed servers.
Marc
Hi Sean
lenm55’s advice is spot on, there is no steel support or load bearing qualities in the dividing wall between the living room and the hall.
My only reservation as Sean has stated would be toward heating but saying that i also know people who have opened up the space and they say the whole house is still warm. Hmmmm I do wonder what the heating bills would be like.
On a side not, I did think about moving the wall back to the staircase with an angled wall starting from the wall beside the large window which would end near to the base of the staircase and perhaps fitting double doors for furniture access etc.
Hard to explain really, I will do a very quick sketch in Photoshop to give you an idea of what I mean. I think this way you get the best of both worlds. More space, no draughts but you do need to think about gas and electric meter access if they are under the stairs. They could be moved outside or you could have a small access panel /door.
Just a wild idea that I keep thinking about. :0)
Hi Sean,
We have only been in our BISF house since September but I can confirm that the wall between the living room and the hall has already been removed and we have an open plan living area combining the lounge and staircase. When we purchased the house, we were told that as the house has an external steel frame, all of the internal walls are non-load bearing and can be removed/altered.
It’s funny as we have only just been discussing putting that wall back in!! ha ha. Purely from an energy perspective as we do find the open plan living a little more draughty. haha