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Hello people.
I've open-planned my kitchen/sitting room by removing about 4.5m of block and plasterboard wall. You can see where it was in this photo:
The column of remaining concrete blocks supports a couple of RSJs, and is due to be replaced by a 152x152 UC post.
The blocks I removed were sitting on a heavy duty DPM (diamond pattern in the photo) which is presumably on top of a dwarf wall / strip foundation. My assumption is that I'll find the same heavy duty DPM under the column of blocks, which must be sitting on some sort of foundation. The thinner DPM sheet goes under the flooring screed.
My question to the forum is to do with the foundation for the column. The structural engineer tells me that the existing foundation is clearly strong enough for the load (it's already supporting the same through the concrete blocks) so it's not really necessary to expose the foundation. Building control seemed to be of the same opinion when I chatted with them at the start of the project.
I'm wondering if fitting the post is a DIY job: prop's under the RSJs, remove the column of concrete blocks, and fit the new steel. Simple, right? The bit I'm not so sure about is preparing the footing for the UC post. The engineer has specified a 250x250mm bottom plate with 4x bolts, but I'm not totally sure what I will have to fix into when the masonry column is gone and the DPM has been cut back - might be another 440mm concrete block or might be some kind of poured concrete pad...? Structural engineer thinks it might be ok to fix into a 7kN block, but I'd need to check with building control.
Any advice greatly appreciated. The house is a 2013 build in West Berkshire.
Cheers, Mike.
I've open-planned my kitchen/sitting room by removing about 4.5m of block and plasterboard wall. You can see where it was in this photo:
The column of remaining concrete blocks supports a couple of RSJs, and is due to be replaced by a 152x152 UC post.
The blocks I removed were sitting on a heavy duty DPM (diamond pattern in the photo) which is presumably on top of a dwarf wall / strip foundation. My assumption is that I'll find the same heavy duty DPM under the column of blocks, which must be sitting on some sort of foundation. The thinner DPM sheet goes under the flooring screed.
My question to the forum is to do with the foundation for the column. The structural engineer tells me that the existing foundation is clearly strong enough for the load (it's already supporting the same through the concrete blocks) so it's not really necessary to expose the foundation. Building control seemed to be of the same opinion when I chatted with them at the start of the project.
I'm wondering if fitting the post is a DIY job: prop's under the RSJs, remove the column of concrete blocks, and fit the new steel. Simple, right? The bit I'm not so sure about is preparing the footing for the UC post. The engineer has specified a 250x250mm bottom plate with 4x bolts, but I'm not totally sure what I will have to fix into when the masonry column is gone and the DPM has been cut back - might be another 440mm concrete block or might be some kind of poured concrete pad...? Structural engineer thinks it might be ok to fix into a 7kN block, but I'd need to check with building control.
Any advice greatly appreciated. The house is a 2013 build in West Berkshire.
Cheers, Mike.
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