Hello everyone,
This is my first question in this forum, and I hope for a friendly and helpful exchange.
We have purchased a semi-detached house, built in 1965.
It is solidly built with perforated bricks 30 cm (12 inches) thick in the exterior/load-bearing walls and perforated bricks (I believe 18 cm (7 inches)) in the non-load-bearing walls.
Now we have a passage on the ground floor where three vertical rods partially block the opening on the left side. We actually wanted to remove them. So, I cut the first rod on the right with a reciprocating saw and found that it was heavier and more solid than expected. It is solid material and not a hollow pipe, about 2-3 cm (1 inch) in diameter.
Now my question:
Do these rods have a structural function for the passage? The remaining lintels above the doors are rather makeshift, made from thick OSB panels. I do not see those in the passage.
Can the rods be removed? Or do I need to reinforce the passage afterward somehow?
Edit: In another house of this series, these three rods don’t exist; instead, the wall was simply extended, and the passage is narrower.
Thank you very much for any help!
This is my first question in this forum, and I hope for a friendly and helpful exchange.
We have purchased a semi-detached house, built in 1965.
It is solidly built with perforated bricks 30 cm (12 inches) thick in the exterior/load-bearing walls and perforated bricks (I believe 18 cm (7 inches)) in the non-load-bearing walls.
Now we have a passage on the ground floor where three vertical rods partially block the opening on the left side. We actually wanted to remove them. So, I cut the first rod on the right with a reciprocating saw and found that it was heavier and more solid than expected. It is solid material and not a hollow pipe, about 2-3 cm (1 inch) in diameter.
Now my question:
Do these rods have a structural function for the passage? The remaining lintels above the doors are rather makeshift, made from thick OSB panels. I do not see those in the passage.
Can the rods be removed? Or do I need to reinforce the passage afterward somehow?
Edit: In another house of this series, these three rods don’t exist; instead, the wall was simply extended, and the passage is narrower.
Thank you very much for any help!
Is the question still relevant?
I would suggest checking how far the lintel above the door extends. I imagine that in the past, as in other houses, the wall continued further, and the lintel actually rested on the wall. To allow more light in, the wall was removed and replaced by these rods. If you remove the rods, the lintel might not have any support left.
But be careful, this is just my assumption.
I would suggest checking how far the lintel above the door extends. I imagine that in the past, as in other houses, the wall continued further, and the lintel actually rested on the wall. To allow more light in, the wall was removed and replaced by these rods. If you remove the rods, the lintel might not have any support left.
But be careful, this is just my assumption.
Hello Tassimat,
Thank you very much for your reply!
In the meantime, I have removed the plaster around the area.
There is a lintel, but on the left side it only rests about 7-8 cm (3-3¼ inches) on the wall. That’s not very much, is it?
I also asked about the neighboring terraced house (which is basically built the same way). There, there are no rods; instead, the wall was built further in, making the passage narrower.
So the rods seem to serve at least a minor structural purpose. I’m not sure if the whole thing would hold up without the rods.
In any case, I will probably leave it with the 2 rods for now (originally, there were 3; I had already removed one before I started thinking about this).
Thank you very much for your reply!
In the meantime, I have removed the plaster around the area.
There is a lintel, but on the left side it only rests about 7-8 cm (3-3¼ inches) on the wall. That’s not very much, is it?
I also asked about the neighboring terraced house (which is basically built the same way). There, there are no rods; instead, the wall was built further in, making the passage narrower.
So the rods seem to serve at least a minor structural purpose. I’m not sure if the whole thing would hold up without the rods.
In any case, I will probably leave it with the 2 rods for now (originally, there were 3; I had already removed one before I started thinking about this).
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