Hello,
I have owned a house for about three years now (built around 1970) and would like to make a small change in the attic. Here is the situation: The large living room in the attic (which spans the full width of the house) has knee walls (is that the correct term?) set inward so much that there is a large unused space behind them. Presumably, this was done to minimize the sloping ceiling in the room.
I would like to install a 70cm (28 inch) wide door in this side wall, which is about 160cm (63 inch) high, to at least be able to use the space behind it for storage. After a test drill, I found out that the wall is 16cm (6 inch) thick and built with standard hollow concrete blocks. Now I am wondering if this wall might have a load-bearing function and if creating an opening for the door could cause major problems.
Or could it be said that regardless of whether it is load-bearing or not, a 70cm (28 inch) opening would not cause any issues anyway?
The original building plans from the 1960s do not include a floor plan for the attic, only a side elevation, which I am attaching. I have no idea if this helps at all.
What do you think?
Best regards,
N
I have owned a house for about three years now (built around 1970) and would like to make a small change in the attic. Here is the situation: The large living room in the attic (which spans the full width of the house) has knee walls (is that the correct term?) set inward so much that there is a large unused space behind them. Presumably, this was done to minimize the sloping ceiling in the room.
I would like to install a 70cm (28 inch) wide door in this side wall, which is about 160cm (63 inch) high, to at least be able to use the space behind it for storage. After a test drill, I found out that the wall is 16cm (6 inch) thick and built with standard hollow concrete blocks. Now I am wondering if this wall might have a load-bearing function and if creating an opening for the door could cause major problems.
Or could it be said that regardless of whether it is load-bearing or not, a 70cm (28 inch) opening would not cause any issues anyway?
The original building plans from the 1960s do not include a floor plan for the attic, only a side elevation, which I am attaching. I have no idea if this helps at all.
What do you think?
Best regards,
N
N
Nanopixel1 Apr 2023 16:03No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t know how. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed to ask the question here.
If you show images from the "back side," it might be possible to provide more information. Existing building forensics is less complicated than many non-experts assume.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
N
Nanopixel3 Apr 2023 21:55No problem. I can’t imagine anyone will gain much insight from this. If they do, I tip my hat.
From the overall view, you could see that the knee wall does not support a purlin (which would be very unusual). This excludes its load-bearing function, but it can still serve a bracing role (which it can also perform intermittently).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/