Removing old attic water tank

[mrbodge]

I have a great big bit of wall sticking down into a room which had at least been converted into built in storage. Anyway, when I noticed the "wall" was a weird pyramid like it had "corbelled" and the "wall" was a piece of drywall hiding it, I wondered if I could safely take the whole lot out to make the room bigger.

I can start obviously by removing the attic tank since that can't hurt but how can I test if I can remove the rest of the bricks? Can supply photos.

Or is this a job for a pro and if so what kind of pro?

 

[big-all]

is it supporting a chimnie stack!!

 

[RedHerring2]

Photos first, me thinks.
The description is too vague for serious reccomendations.
The alternative is to go straight for qualified advice on site.

 

[joinerjohn]

Going by your username, I'd be tempted to just rip it down anyway. Then call your insurance company.


Nah but seriously. Get a qualified builder in to have a look before you proceed.

 

[Static]

Photos first, me thinks.
The description is too vague for serious reccomendations.

Ditto this..

 

[mrbodge]

is it supporting a chimnie stack!!

No,

When I first saw it, I t hought that must be it, but the chimney is the complete opposite side of the building it's just a hot water tank (verfified by dropping objects down, they arrive near where a boiler used to live) and the rafters don't even touch it.

Or I could be completely wrong and will get some photos tomorrow.

 

[mrbodge]

As my old camera was crap, the tomorrow photos never happened. I have now uploaded them, they give some idea but I also took two movies which give a better idea. The movies are however MASSIVE so I will link them to mediafire for people with fast internet to look at. I tried to reduce them but the loss of detail wasn't worth it. You do get to here me whine about kneeling on a nail in one of them though.

Comments about the images are all in the album. I don't think this monster is an integral load bearing part of the building, more like a parasite...

It starts downstairs, what is this

• mrbodge
• 15 Jul 2010
• 1

Expected to find pipes here, instead found bricks...

Expected to find pipes here, instead found bricks...

Upstairs, we discover what they are doing

• mrbodge
• 16 Jul 2010
• 1

This is hard to see, I have made a movie which is much clearer but also gigantic and have...

This is hard to see, I think the forum shrunk my image, but this is what is above the bricks. I have made a movie which is much clearer but also gigantic and have provided links to mediafire in the thread thie album is for. The bricks are holding some of this up.
http://www.mediafire.com/?lmyetdmrjmy0jyw

It's holding this up, looks like it used to c

• mrbodge
• 15 Jul 2010
• 1

This huge object is serving no purpose anymore.

This huge object is serving no purpose anymore.
http://www.mediafire.com/?nkmwuxeo0ucogjo

Looking down the cavity

• mrbodge
• 15 Jul 2010
• 1

A bit like alice, but I was just confirming A + B = the strangeness being discovered.

A bit like alice, but I was just confirming A + B = the strangeness being discovered.

Front

• mrbodge
• 16 Jul 2010
• 1

Here it is from the front.

Here it is from the front.

Behind

• mrbodge
• 16 Jul 2010
• 1

And behind. Those pipes are not in use.

And behind. Those pipes are not in use.

Rear Corner Left

• mrbodge
• 16 Jul 2010
• 1

Maybe an expert can get some clues here. That wood going from the joist is laid onto...

Maybe an expert can get some clues here. That wood going from the joist is laid onto plasterboard and just nailed into the joists it connects.

Rear Corner Right

• mrbodge
• 16 Jul 2010
• 1

Not a lot to see here except it's right next to the joist so I'm hoping this means it's got...

Not a lot to see here except it's right next to the joist so I'm hoping this means it's got nothing to do with being a load bearing wall

 

[mrbodge]

Well, the mystery is partly solved. The kitchen is a couple of inches higher than the rest of the rooms in the place for no apparent reason. It had been my intention to destroy the quarry tiles and old screed, put in some Ardex K-15B so it was the same as everything else. Today I decided to try and find out just why the kitchen is like that. So I ripped out the ramp which raises it and took some photos to show to the boys and the chaps on here, cleaned it up and took more, zoom shots, super macros, lot of different pictures because it didn't make sense. Then (after the cleanup) I looked to the left and noticed a couple of layers of very new looking (which they can't be they must be at least 30 years old) engineering bricks holding up this weird construction nobody understands. But that solves the mystery of why the kitchen is higher - it hid what he did for foundations with his very dodgy water tank bit.

I'm gunna get a pro to come in and look at it to see how to get rid of it. and if it's worth it. I might just use some Mira-X and sort it out that way (making it a little bit higher again (argh). Because it just might not be worth it.

 

[JonB]

Dont know about Mira-x but more like Cemtex.