We live in a modest two up/two down with 1940s rear extension. run of the mill terrace.

between the two downstairs main rooms is a archway. we want rid of the walls.

I’m thinking nice steel RSJ etc. wouldn’t even need finishing as I’ll board and plaster myself.

anyone done this in a similar build? how much roughly? I’m looking for ideas on cost as I’m on a tight budget of £1700 to get the work done, reskim and new floor, skirting, rads etc all of which I will do.

I’m finding it hard to get anyone to come and quote and take on the job…

its an end terrace if that makes any difference to the difficulty.

ta.

Builders don’t like to quote to DIYers. I’ve found this out by a distinct lack of responses or returning of phone calls. If we do need anyone I get the wife to call and act a bit dim. Depending on what the wall is supporting and which way the joists run it might not be that hard a job. Hire a few acro props a get a couple of friends round for the actual lift. What could go wrong?

Its the fact I don’t know how much support id need each end or how big a steel i’d need.

I’m comfortable with most stuff but structural things i’m not so sure. if it was a a stud wall i’d be well in there!

like you’ve said, maybe my wife should ring and ask for a quote for a complete finished job then I can negotiate down to the bare bones.

Could easily be a DIY job if the arch isn’t structural. Get a structural engineer in (most charge by the hour) to determine whether a beam (not called RSJs any more apparently – who knew?) is required. You’ll need to leave a bit of wall either side (called piers) for the beam to sit on, unless you plan to sit the ends in pockets in an adjoining wall. The size of these piers are listed in Building Regs – although our local BR Inspector was happy with smaller piers than Regs calls for. If you need a beam, I think it needs to be fire proofed with a certain type of plasterboard.

IANASE…

(not called RSJs any more apparently – who knew?)

I think you’ll find this is the official term that builders and anyone over the age of 60 call em.
They will also refer to them size wise in inches, i.e an 8″ beam.
To the informed they are UB (universal beam) and UC ( universal column). The UC are also used as beams which can confuse people.
As said above, get a structural engineer to look at it for you. Where abouts in the country are you ?

Yep, structural engineer is the first step. They’ll do some (fag packet) calculations to work out the loads which need to be supported by the new structure.

Then they’ll do a drawing to show what size beam, padstones etc which the builder needs to know

It’s then worth casting an eye over they’re drawings just to check you understand what they’re recommending.

For a similar job on our house, they massively over-specced the steel needed. When I questioned it, the answer was ‘just because’ so they changed it which reduced the cost by about £400! Glad I checked!

Expect to pay £200-£300 for the structural engineer and the same again for the building inspector.