Don't Stop Me Now...!!!!

[ColJack]

I just bought a flat.

I got the keys last week, and then spent all day saturday waiting for deliveries / cable install..

while there, I decided I didn't like the way the previous owner had done the kitchen..
They had put "tongue and groove" all round the lower half of the walls and had under counter fridge and freezer.
I decided I wanted a tall fridge freezer, and to remove the tongue and groove.

So I set to on sunday with a pry bar and a screw driver to remove a section of counter, an upper cupboard and the tongue and groove.

Oh gods what a mistake that was.. the tongue and groove hid a multitude of sins, not the least of which was a gas pipe, and large chunks of missing plaster where tiles used to be..

so I then decided I needed to re-plaster as the plater was also comming off with the wall paper!!!..

I'm am taking out the old units which are in good shape and will be re-used in a slightly different configuration.

once out I realised the floor needs re-doing as it had some strange low and high spots and the "lino" was not laid square ( like 3 inches out over 3 meters... )
once pulled up, I found the reason for one high spot was a removed wall which I assume was the old boiler cupboard as it has cut off pipes leading into the floor as well as the water feed to the flat.

said water feed is run using compression fittings in a bashed out slot and up the wall..


So now i need a plumber, a plasterer, and a floor guy to put the kitchen back right...
I sould never be let loose with tools.. these DIY programs have a lot to answer for...

QUESTION:.

I have a small wall in the kitchen that protrudes from the chimney breast ( in one corner.. ).
I would very much like to remove this as it would make my kitchen flow better...

I think it supports an old tank in the loft above which is no longer used..

Can i remove it if i remove the tank first.??

 

[fido]

Only you can tell what your wall is supporting by inspection, measurements etc but if it is a water tank and it is empty you probably don't even need to remove it as it won't weigh much empty.

 

[ColJack]

yeah but extra loft space is extra loft space.. and it's in the middle of the pitch, against the chimney breast, so not even out of the way...

 

[bernardgreen]

I have a small wall in the kitchen that protrudes from the chimney breast ( in one corner.. ).
I would very much like to remove this as it would make my kitchen flow better... I think it supports an old tank in the loft above which is no longer used.. Can i remove it if i remove the tank first.??

It may be a buttress wall strengthing the wall it is attached to.

 

[ColJack]

comes off the corner of a chimney breast.. i'd have thought that was pretty sturdy in itself..

it definitely seems to be for a steel beam running from the kitchen wall to it to support the tank in the loft above...

EDIT:

ok, got some pictures from my phone..

The wall i want to remove is between the 2 cabinets on the left of the first picture..
this was the kitchen to start with... not bad but no what I wanted..

This is the kitchen now.. ( actually it's worse now... )

This is the pipe i need to move... ( floor void runs left to right... ) this pipe is under the small dryer shown in picture 1..

 

[Steve]

And its definitely water, not gas? I ask because its right below the boiler. Though i dont think compression fittings are used on gas.

That pipe is dodgy anyway. Can you trace it at all?

You say this is a flat - im guessing ground floor, since it appears to be concrete. Yet you mention a loft. Where in the building are we?

 

[ColJack]

first floor..
concrete floor between levels.. which also seems to be actually 2 concrete floors one on top of another... there is a flat bottom to the hole the pipe is in and in another nearby hole where a half brick was sticking out..

definitely not gas.. the gas pipe is imbeded in the wall about half way...

 

[ColJack]

my flat is the top one on the right ( 3 windows wide )

more holes in the floor.. seem there are 2 floors, one on top of the other.. bottom of hole is flat concrete.. used to have a block wall in it.. ( half a block still in it when found.. set on some sort of fibre pad??? )

 

[ColJack]

yay, finally moved in...

 

[ColJack]

I've finaly gotten round to getting it plastered ( money is tight the first few years with a mortgage I've found.. )

View media item 13145 View media item 13063 the plaster came off with the wallpaper...

View media item 13147 the gas pipe through the little wall outcrop.

View media item 13061 the wall removed..

View media item 13062 the damage taking th T+G off caused...

View media item 13144 I knew this was a bad idea..

View media item 13095 View media item 13094 things are starting to come together again...

View media item 13143 and the plan that I'm trying to bring to fruition..

I'll keep you updated as it goes on..

 

[ColJack]

wow.. a £1500 budget soon dissapears on a kitchen re-fit.. and I even re-used some of the old cabinets..
next time I'll buy some contiboard and make my own...

£350 for the plasterer..
£200 on tiles, grout and adhesive
£400 for just 3 cabinets an extract and counters...
£120 to fix the boiler..
£50 for the plumber first fix water and gas
£50 for paint and tools..

so that's me up to £1170 and I still need to buy the cabinet doors, the sink and the taps... .. ( the old sink might go back in temp for a while.. )

 

[bathstyle]

I did my main bathroom on the cheap....ish, just bought my En suite and just don't see the point in getting cheap as it doesn't last, spent a £k on a Basin and Mirror cabinet, ridiculous prices.