Demolition of the bearing wall in accordance with all the rules

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Who demolished the bearing walls

Permission to demolish a curtain wall will be required in any case. After all, load-bearing walls are the most important part of any home, including a panel. The entire load from the ceilings and the roof of the house is assumed by the bearing walls.

They accept and correctly distribute the load, so only professional designers are involved in all calculations from their location to their bearing capacity. Whether it is possible to demolish the bearing wall is decided not by the owner of the apartment, but by the regulatory authorities.

Attention: Any changes made significantly change the load distribution on the building and therefore they must be accompanied by legally regulatory authorities.

Redevelopment and work with load-bearing walls

Let's look at the question of whether it is possible to demolish the bearing walls from the practical side. If the neighbors demolish the bearing walls, this does not mean at all that they are demolishing them.

Indeed, no one will give permission to demolish this wall. But it is quite possible to agree on a redevelopment in the apartment and make a partial demolition of the load-bearing wall in a brick house, this may be the installation of a window or opening (see How to cut openings in load-bearing walls) Is it possible to demolish curtain walls and in what cases we will consider below.

Caution: The consequences of the demolition of the load-bearing wall can be catastrophic. So from unauthorized work you can have big troubles with the law, up to criminal liability.

Bearing camps as the main support of the whole house

When making any changes to the wall structure, such as its demolition, or the creation of a door or window opening, all its characteristics, including its bearing capacity, are changed.

Attention: Without holding such legal measures, problems may arise when selling an apartment. For sale, you need to make a technical passport for the apartment, which, if the integrity of the bearing walls is violated, may simply not be given out until you return it, everything was completely at your own expense.

Here is an incomplete definition of the properties of the bearing wall of a building, its importance, legal and financial responsibility for making changes to it. Next, we will talk about how to understand which wall is the bearing and which is simply an interior partition.

Definition of a load-bearing wall

The most reliable, reliable and ridiculously simple method in determining the load-bearing wall of a building is simply to simply look at the technical documentation for it. Only if you do not have the necessary documents at hand, but you still need to calculate the load-bearing wall, is there a fairly simple method for doing this.

We determine the bearing walls

So:

• Measure the thickness of the walls of the panel house, and the thickest wall will almost certainly be the bearing. The main thing to remember is that the thickness of the bearing wall cannot be less than 12 centimeters. The thickness of the partitions, as a rule, varies from 8 to 10 centimeters, but there are exceptions. An important point in the measurement process will be that finishing materials, such as plaster, drywall, etc., are not taken into account in the measurements.
• That is, if as a result of your measurements you found a wall of 12 centimeters, it almost certainly seems to be a carrier in the building. If the wall thickness is less than 10 centimeters, then this is clearly a partition. Making changes to its structure will not change the load distribution in the house too much, since nothing relies on it.
• Of course, all this is not an absolutely accurate sign in the definition of a load-bearing wall.. If you need the most reliable information, you will need either documentation or a consultation with a specialist, or better yet, the specialist will search for the load-bearing wall himself.

Determination of the bearing wall of the Khrushchev

Separately, it is worth mentioning the methods of searching for load-bearing walls in the Khrushchev. Naturally, you should also first try to find some documentation, and only then resort to other search methods.

• Significantly facilitates the search process, the fact that the Khrushchev built on standard projects, which means they have the same layout. All the walls dividing the apartment into separate rooms are not bearing, and their change and dismantling can be carried out quite freely. But the walls overlooking the stairwell, always bearing.
• The walls in Khrushchev, which are significantly thicker than others, will always be bearing. Another parameter is also applicable to them, namely the thickness of a bare wall from 12 centimeters. All that is thinner is a partition.
• They do not bear any load and two more types of walls. The wall between the balcony and the apartment basically performs a heat-insulating function, and it is quite possible to remove it if you are sure of a good thermal insulation of the balcony itself. Another wall and complete dismantling will not affect the strength of the building, the partition wall in the bathroom (see How to tear down the wall between the bathroom and the toilet in accordance with all the rules).

Dismantling the walls

Starting dismantling or redevelopment, first of all, it is necessary to collect all the necessary documents and coordinate the changes with the housing inspection. Otherwise, you run the risk of going to court in the best case, and at the very least do irreparable harm to the strength of the entire building, with all the ensuing from this.

So:

• The dismantling of the walls should be extremely carefully and carefully, especially if it is a panel house. In a panel house, you can safely remove two types of partitions. That the partition dividing the toilet room with the bathroom, that dividing the room with the kitchen, do not carry any significant supporting function, therefore it is permissible to remove them, at least completely.
• Khrushchev is less picky in terms of dismantling. Walls that do not affect the strength of the structure as a whole can be freely disassembled and modified. As well as in a prefabricated house, you can dismantle the partitions of the kitchen with a room, in the bathroom, and also apartments with a balcony.

Attention: At the same time, when removing walls that are not load-bearing, it should be borne in mind that they still play their role in the load distribution of the house. In this regard, when carrying out dismantling work, observe a certain caution and accuracy, calculating the consequences of your actions.

Rules and prohibitions in redevelopment

When replanning, many factors must be taken into account, including knowing what is and how is prohibited or can be accommodated.

Gask demolition of load-bearing walls

So:

• So hygienic premises (toilet, bathroom), it is forbidden to place over residential. Of course, you have some freedom in expanding and moving them within your apartment, but only within the corridors, hallways, pantries and similar rooms.
• The kitchen obeys the same rule, that is, you can place it anywhere you want, except under the bathroom.
• In no case should it be allowed for equipment, such as gas valves, to be in an inaccessible, isolated place, and also to use common house water supply systems for other purposes (underfloor heating).
• It’s not worth it, and get carried away with the redevelopment of the balcony and loggia, namely, trying to make them warmer by equipping heating radiators, since this is prohibited.
  It has already been said above that the dismantling of the kitchen partition can be done quite freely, but there are also particulars.
• If the kitchen is equipped with a gas stove, such dismantling will not be allowed, especially if the apartment is one-room.It’s not worth it, and try to include common areas in your living space, this is directly prohibited by the housing code of the Russian Federation.
• When re-planning, not only prohibitions, but also some requirements of housing legislation should be taken into account. So living quarters and a kitchen should have access to natural consecration.
• If you nevertheless made an unauthorized redevelopment, then you, as the owner of the apartment, will be fined from two to two and a half thousand rubles. Money punishment can be dispensed only if the redevelopment is done without significant violations, otherwise you will have to return everything as it was, again for your money.

Reconciliation and approval of changes during redevelopment

When dismantling walls, this should be done by law, with all possible approvals and approvals from government agencies. It is necessary to begin dismantling by contacting the BTI for a technical passport of the apartment.

Only after receiving it you can understand the entire history of previous changes and plan your redevelopment.

• In order to simplify obtaining permission for redevelopment in old prefabricated houses, the housing inspectorate even developed two redevelopment projects. The first project is the simplest redevelopment that does not require significant changes, such as the demolition of load-bearing walls. The next type of project, complex redevelopment, with significant dismantling, through changes in the bearing walls.
• With the first type of redevelopment, you, as the owner, may well make changes even without prior approval. The same applies to all such projects, not even documented, if they provide for intervention in the supporting structures. In this case, you should not do only two things, change the size of the bathroom and take out the plumbing beyond it, otherwise the developed project is necessary.

Attention: The only concession at the same time is that a simple design organization can do it, and approve it at the end. Having completed your project, be sure to fix and document all the changes in the BTI and the housing inspection.

• Aligning and getting approval for a complex redevelopment is somewhat more difficult. You must choose from certain projects made by the Moscow Institute of Experimental Design (MNNITEP). Such projects have their strengths and weaknesses. They are free, but for their implementation to university employees, it is necessary to conduct a full and comprehensive examination of the premises, as well as apartments above and below, which naturally will require the consent of your neighbors to these actions.
• At the same time, you are very dependent on the condition of the neighbors' apartments, because if they find an unregistered redevelopment, or any openings in the bearing walls, a free project will not be available to you.

Are you not satisfied with the available free redevelopment projects? You can do it according to your project, but then all the financial costs will be borne by you completely and completely.

• In the documentation of such projects, there should be drawings of the initial layout and subsequent changes, an explanatory note, and photomontages will be needed to make changes to the facade of the building.
• Most of the complex redevelopment projects have already been created by university employees, and the chances that you will find your own unique project are extremely small. Most likely, you can still find what you need among those already developed.

Demolition of the curtain wall and redevelopment is quite a troublesome and responsible business. And if you got permission, then do everything quite accurately and according to technology.

Watch the video in this article and photos that will help in this matter. But if you do not have building practice, then do it yourself is not worth trying. After all, the price of the issue is quite high, it is better then turn to professionals.