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 concept as a load-bearing wall in two-room apartment(as well as other rooms), you can look at the 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 obvious signs can be used to determine. 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, and an office withstood the heavy loads of all the structural elements of the building that were located above that fell on it. How to determine load-bearing walls in a panel house or a brick or block building? 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 a monolithic building? 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 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 contact 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 premises was carried out so that 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 bearing structures are marked with a bold, double or simply thick line, which will be significantly different from the 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 a 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 various apartments– 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 reschedule precisely inner space residential premises, connect them to the corridor, but not to 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 treshka is a typical layout of rooms:
- 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 a ceiling between two apartments, a landing and goes out onto the street. Some types of layouts also include 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 while creating residential complexes, and therefore you can’t 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 accept final decision, an inspection and study of technical documentation is required.
- 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 security. Even the fact that such a panel has been demolished by a neighbor does not give the right to remove it in own apartment. The gradual removal of partitions increases the level of danger, and therefore living in a house without supporting structures is 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.
You need to understand what kind of wall is in front of you. Learn how to determine a load-bearing wall inside a home.
Remember that dismantling or partial destruction is strictly prohibited. In some cases it is allowed to do doorway, but everything must be with the permission of the relevant authorities.
Before you start looking for a load-bearing wall, try to find documents with the layout of the building. They contain all the clues pointing to one or the other. So, you need to remember how many times the building was reconstructed and whether it was carried out at all. During reconstruction, anyone already questions all previous drawings with the original layout of the building. In addition, sometimes reconstruction involves adding a new façade to the house. Then the old ones can become internal.
Many sites offer redevelopments in houses of one series or another. At the same time, the “creators” of such architectural projects do not always take into account what will be demolished inside the house. Of course, partial destruction of the carrier does not always lead to disastrous consequences. Sometimes 5–10 years pass from the moment of dismantling, after which the floor above begins to become covered with “patterns” of cracks. It all depends on the age of the building and its condition.
In any case, the most simple option How to determine which wall is load-bearing is to contact a professional construction companies. One way or another, there are a number of definitions of load-bearing walls for houses of one type or another. Let's look at them below.
We are looking for a load-bearing structure in a panel house
The most common residential buildings are panel type houses. Depending on the series of the house, the location of the load-bearing structures is different. In any case, there are significantly more of them than partitions. One of the most important determinations is thickness measurement. So, remember that its main significance is for partitions in panel houses is 80–100 mm, but the load-bearing ones can be 120, 140, 160, 180 and 200. When measuring the thickness, it is worth taking into account and. It must either be removed where the wall was measured, or subtracted from the result obtained.
In 80% of cases, septa panel houses, and their thickness is 80 mm. Thus, we attribute everything that is thinner than 120 to partitions, but if the measurements are higher than the indicated figure, then the walls are load-bearing. Of course, it may happen that the figure turns out to be 120 mm. Then you should use the services of engineers who developed the layout of the house. One way or another, even if you yourself determine that this wall can be dismantled, you will need a technical opinion from engineers. Only on its basis are any redevelopments allowed.
Looking for a carrier in a brick house
Now let's talk about the old ones brick buildings. have different thickness depending on the number of bricks in the masonry. The length of a standard brick is 120 mm. Seams between brickwork have an indicator of 10 mm. Thus, if it consists of two rows of bricks, then the value will be calculated as follows: 120 + 120 + 10 = 250 mm. According to further calculations, it can be in size: 380 mm (three rows of 120 and two seams of 10), 510 mm (four rows of 120 and three seams of 10), 640 mm (five rows of 120 and four seams of 10).
Now we explain the load-bearing wall in a brick house. And everything is extremely simple: again, by measuring. The walls in such houses separating the apartments are partitions and have a thickness of 250 mm (double masonry). The usual partitions between rooms are either 80 or 120. The remaining walls are load-bearing - they can be 380, 510, 640 and higher.
By the way, there are old houses with wooden floor. They can even be carriers wooden partitions. Initially they did not perform such a function, but later became a support for the floors above.
We are looking for a load-bearing structure in a monolithic house
Monolithic houses have a huge variety of layouts. Here you can only be sure that there is a partition in front of you. Therefore, if possible, you will need to find a house project, and also be sure to consult with an engineer from the developer.
Although you can again resort to the method of determining load-bearing walls by measuring the thickness. The value can be 200, 250, 300 and higher. Having measured it, do not rush to make hasty conclusions. So, if its thickness is less than 200 mm, then this means by 99% that you have measured the partition. But if this figure, for example, is 200 mm, then this does not always confirm the opposite. The fact is that monolithic houses involve the use of foam blocks, which are special kind partitions.
Conclusion
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. Is there some more technical certificate apartments, 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 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? Consider such a wall as a thickened partition, or 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- a wall thicker than 20cm - load-bearing. 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.
If you have a need for renovation and redevelopment, then you need to know where the load-bearing or non-load-bearing walls are in your apartment and which of them can be affected.
It is quite difficult for a non-specialist to determine the location of the walls by assessing them according to the BTI plan, by visual guessing, by tapping, or by measuring their thickness. It is possible to guess more accurately, but it is impossible to get an exact answer.
1. BTI documents
Basically, there is an opinion that everything you need about an apartment can be seen from the BTI documents. These documents are available for two types of apartments
1. Floor plan + explication
2. Technical passport of BTI
So, a floor plan, in principle, is not suitable for analyzing apartment structures. This is just a drawing of your apartment and that's it.
But the Technical Data Sheet of the BTI may be somewhat more useful, but it is only useful if you are interested in the area of the premises.
In addition, you can find out in it what material the building was built from, in what year and other technical details, but regarding the type of walls, you will not find answers in this document.
2. Tapping
Also, the method is very ambiguous. For example, in panel houses there are non-load-bearing partitions made of concrete ( that is, the walls are “very strong”), and they also have reinforcement.
3. Thickness measurement
A wall in an apartment is never “bare”. There is usually some layer of plaster on the wall. One centimeter is the standard case, but sometimes more. Therefore, by measuring its thickness, you can make a mistake by 2-4 cm and assume that the wall is load-bearing, but in fact it may not be load-bearing. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the thickness of the wall “in its pure” form, without plaster layers.
The only “more or less” adequate way to determine the structure of a wall is to open it.
That is, a hole is made in the wall, the thickness of the wall is measured without plaster layers, and an immediate understanding of what the wall consists of appears.
We will also comment on why, according to the BTI plan, it is difficult to determine where the load-bearing wall is and where it is not, and we will give several examples.
Try to determine from them where the walls are load-bearing and where are not load-bearing. At the very end of the article, these walls will be described in the attached pictures.
Only presented here standard series from which “more or less” with some probability one can understand and assume something.
For older houses or houses of individual series, the situation is much more confusing, where even a redevelopment specialist who has worked for many years cannot always unambiguously determine the type of structure, even from experience. You can “estimate” the probability, but definitely say no.
So, below are the BTI plans for standard house, try to determine where the walls are load-bearing and where they are not:
You can see scanned plans of apartments in panel houses, on some of them the load-bearing walls are marked with wider lines, on others, all the walls are shown the same thickness, which can give the wrong idea about their purpose. The wall between the living room and the kitchen in panel houses, as a rule, is load-bearing, while this cannot be clearly understood from the BTI plans.
The fact is that BTI engineers only measure the premises, that is, their area, and they are not interested in the thickness, purpose and material of the interior walls.
(And reflecting on a scale of 1:200 a load-bearing wall 14 cm or 16 cm thick from a non-load-bearing partition 12 cm thick is not even technically possible)
For a specialist, it may be enough to know what series of apartments is in front of him in order to understand the purpose of the wall, but for non-specialists, to be sure, it is necessary to refer to the developer’s plan, on which load-bearing walls are marked with shading or axes, and non-load-bearing partitions are indicated with thinner lines.
Sometimes you can also find a technical passport of an apartment from the developer, where all the structures are described, but this is very rare.
Since redevelopment will require the development of a redevelopment project, you can forward your question to specialists who will figure out in which wall openings can be made.
We often encounter situations when an owner comes to us with, say, an opening already made in a load-bearing wall. Moreover, the builders who "done this a hundred times" they assured him that the wall was not load-bearing and could be completely demolished, but they were just doing "small little hole" and the wall turns out to be load-bearing and we begin work with an already quite complex object in which the opening is not permissible size, not in an acceptable location and not yet properly reinforced or without reinforcement at all.
Our company has been coordinating redevelopments in apartments and non-residential premises for ten years now, and therefore we can easily determine whether a wall is load-bearing.
Call us, we will be happy to advise you on your property.
Answers on the location of load-bearing walls and not load-bearing partitions in the pictures below:
Many people, especially those living in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings, try to remodel their small and uncomfortable apartments using redevelopment. But it’s one thing to do it in an individual building, and quite another to change a doorway or move a partition in a high-rise building, where almost every wall is load-bearing. All this ensures the safety of residents in combination with all technical design Houses.
What is redevelopment? According to housing code– this concept includes all changes in the configuration of the apartment that require inclusion in the technical passport. This:
- changing the location of load-bearing walls and partitions,
- relocation of window and door openings,
- re-equipment of vestibules and dark storage rooms,
- interior arrangement,
- refurbishment of bathrooms,
- division of large rooms,
- expansion of living space due to household premises,
- glazing of a balcony or loggia,
- replacement gas stoves to electrical
- moving a bathroom, kitchen or toilet.
All these types of changes in the apartment are subject to redevelopment and the relevant authorities.
What cannot be demolished: a load-bearing wall
Most often, redevelopment is associated with demolition interior partitions. But not everyone knows which walls can be touched and which ones cannot. Reckless demolition of structures leads to a change in the action of forces on the remaining surfaces and rooms located below. In addition, ceilings left without support may not withstand the load and collapse at any time. Since, in addition to separation different rooms, wall elements serve as supports ceiling for all higher located, similar structural elements.
The main (load-bearing) walls in practice are located perpendicular to the floor beams. If it is made from concrete slabs, then their ends rest on the surface of the supporting structure. Usually these are walls between apartments and blocks, or external ones. As a rule, only partitions are equipped inside the apartment.
How to find out which wall is load-bearing?
Is it possible to determine the purpose of the wall yourself? Certainly. By its thickness or the material from which it is built. In panel-type houses indoor units have a thickness of up to 120 mm. Therefore, they can be considered partitions (their thickness ranges from 80-120 mm). The load-bearing surface must have a thickness of at least 140 mm. Most often, in such houses, the external walls are made with a thickness of 200 mm. In brick houses, external, load-bearing structures have a thickness of 380 mm or more, inter-apartment structures - 250 mm, and partitions - 120 or 80 mm.
The material most often used for load-bearing walls in panel houses is wall or inter-apartment blocks made of reinforced concrete with various additives to lighten the structure and increase thermal protection. Internal partitions 90% of panel houses are made of gypsum concrete panels. In brick buildings, the main material for all walls is red and sand-lime brick, differing in size. Gypsum concrete panels can also be used as partitions.
Of course, no one is going to demolish the outer walls, but the partitions can be removed by obtaining the appropriate permission. To accurately determine which wall is load-bearing, it is best to use BTI data - a detailed floor plan. There, all main walls are marked with thicker lines, and partitions that do not have such functions are marked with thinner lines.
What is needed for demolition?
In any case, before starting work on demolishing a particular wall and moving it, you need to consult a qualified specialist. As well as a full calculation that takes into account the distribution of loads that must be transferred from old structures to newly erected ones. In addition, you may have to change the power supply circuit. In addition, it must be borne in mind that uncoordinated demolition of the walls of the premises may prevent its sale or the preparation of donation documents, etc. But that’s not all. Such actions are considered illegal and entail fines, summonses to court, and can even lead to confiscation of the apartment.
Therefore, approval of the redevelopment project is necessary in any case. What is needed for that?
- A plan developed by the BTI service specifically for this type redevelopment.
- Drawing up a technical report for the demolition of the wall.
- Receipt positive conclusion housing inspection at the place of registration.