I'm about to start converting my integral garage into a room, and also knock the utility room through into the kitchen. I've had a structural engineer out who has provided a design for all the beams that are required. The house was built in 1997 if that helps any.
In advance of the main heavy work starting, I've ripped the ceilings down as there were some joists/upstairs floors that needed repairing, and a lot of plumbing work to do. I've since noticed that I might be able to potentially make things a bit easier. The internal wall between the garage and the rest of the house is double skin (100mm block - 100mm insulated cavity - 100mm block). Both walls are proper blocks not thermalite. I'm assuming this is due to fire/insulation requirements against the garage, but that won't be a garage soon. The garage door will be bricked up and a small (1200x1200 ish) window fitted in its place so it can't go back to being a garage.
The floor joists above the garage extend across both skins, , so I am trying to see if I can gain a bit of floor space, make the door opening look less silly, and save some beams by taking out one skin of the internal wall. There are no other double skinned internal walls downstairs. The external walls have a smaller cavity than this internal monstrosity for some reason (100mm-ish brick - 70mm insulated cavity - 100mm block)
Obviously to make this work, I'll have to get the structural engineer back out to redesign it, but before I go to the expense of that to be told "no" because of some requirement that I haven't thought about, I thought I'd ask here first. I've done some drawings to hopefully explain what I mean a bit better, along with a photo of the joists sitting on both skins.
I am aware that I need to put in a building notice for this work, I'm just trying to get my head around what I'm actually wanting to do before I involve them. Although perhaps I ought to just ring them and ask...
Thanks in advance for any help with this.
In advance of the main heavy work starting, I've ripped the ceilings down as there were some joists/upstairs floors that needed repairing, and a lot of plumbing work to do. I've since noticed that I might be able to potentially make things a bit easier. The internal wall between the garage and the rest of the house is double skin (100mm block - 100mm insulated cavity - 100mm block). Both walls are proper blocks not thermalite. I'm assuming this is due to fire/insulation requirements against the garage, but that won't be a garage soon. The garage door will be bricked up and a small (1200x1200 ish) window fitted in its place so it can't go back to being a garage.
The floor joists above the garage extend across both skins, , so I am trying to see if I can gain a bit of floor space, make the door opening look less silly, and save some beams by taking out one skin of the internal wall. There are no other double skinned internal walls downstairs. The external walls have a smaller cavity than this internal monstrosity for some reason (100mm-ish brick - 70mm insulated cavity - 100mm block)
Obviously to make this work, I'll have to get the structural engineer back out to redesign it, but before I go to the expense of that to be told "no" because of some requirement that I haven't thought about, I thought I'd ask here first. I've done some drawings to hopefully explain what I mean a bit better, along with a photo of the joists sitting on both skins.
I am aware that I need to put in a building notice for this work, I'm just trying to get my head around what I'm actually wanting to do before I involve them. Although perhaps I ought to just ring them and ask...
Thanks in advance for any help with this.
