A structural engineer’s inspection for Walls which are load bearing in a building will involve an invasive search for structural clues. They will have to access your property’s foundations and look beneath floorboards and possibly cut into drywall to find supporting beams.

1 They start by going to the building’s concrete foundation, the lowest point in the home, and look firstly for walls directly embedded in it: these are load bearing and will, for example, include all four external walls which are all load bearing.

2 They then locate the beams. Beams are sturdy pieces of wood which transfer the weight of the building into the foundation. They can go through many floors and therefore be part of many load bearing walls.

3 They then work upwards and locate floor joists. These are wooden supporting beams which are located on the underside of floors which supports rooms above. If they meet a wall or a main support beam at a right angle, they are transferring the weight of the floor above into a wall and therefore the wall is load bearing.

4 They will follow similar procedures to locate internal walls.

A structural engineer can also obtain a building’s blueprints should further research be needed.

1 Before making a hole in a wall which is load bearing, you have to support ALL the weight of whatever that wall supports by fitting a lintel – often a rolled steel joist (RSJ) bracing the ceiling of the wall. The dimensions of the lintel will be determined by a fine calculation of the support needed.

2 The professional operative drills holes very close to the ceiling and inserts strong steel ‘needles’ at two foot (61cm) centres across the full width of the opening. The needles must run either side of the wall by 18 inches (46cm). When these are in place, a timber known as a ‘head tree’ is placed beneath them at each side of the wall. This head tree is normally held up by props at two foot (61cm) centres.

3 With supports in place the operative cuts the section out for the lintel’s insertion. The opening must be 12 inches (30cm) wider than the opening being made in the wall to allow the lintel to sit on at least 6 inches (15cm) of masonry either side of the new opening.

4 When the lintel is in place the masonry can be rebuilt and this may involve forcing in some sand and cement mortar and even some roofing slate. Once the sand and cement have hardened, the needles and props can be removed and the opening in the wall can be cut leading to the wall being removed.

The cost for removal of a wall which is load bearing can vary considerably and in total must include inspection, professional labour, parts (e.g. the RSJ) and possibly paying for a Local Authority permit. It naturally increases with the size of the wall.

For a 3 metre by 3.6 metre wall, we were quoted prices starting from £2,500 and upwards at press time and these were subject to change pending a full structural inspection.