Install the door block on load-bearing wall, if it is not provided for in the project, it is very difficult. The problems are related to obtaining permission. You cannot cut openings in load-bearing walls without authorization. In addition to the fine issued, the passage will be forced to be pawned. There will be more problems if the structure of a multi-story building is damaged during amateur activities.
Load-bearing walls take the load from the floor and roof slabs. Partial dismantling without installing a supporting structure will cause cracks to appear. Failure to take measures in time will lead to the collapse of the building.
You can independently determine where load-bearing walls and partitions are located according to the plan. They are indicated in the registration certificate for housing bold lines. In the absence of documentation, the main walls are determined visually by their increased thickness. Usually they are located at the junction of apartments with each other and with a flight of stairs.
Is it possible to make an opening in a load-bearing wall?
To move or cut a new doorway on a load-bearing wall, you must submit an application to the head of the housing inspection. Based on the decision made, further work is carried out.
If the issue is not agreed upon with the authorities, the opening will be forced to be walled up and a fine will be issued.
About cutting down or transferring doorway in a curtain wall can refuse:
- If the service life apartment building more than 20 years and during all this time there has never been a major overhaul. A dilapidated building can collapse.
- When there is already a door on the wall on the floor above. Refusal to obtain permission to make an opening is justified by the impossibility of their location on top of each other.
- When the apartment is on the first and second floor. In multi-story buildings, the entire load falls on the walls.
- If there are obvious building defects. If cracks have already appeared on the walls of the house, permission will be categorically refused.
- When it comes to panel and monolithic high-rise buildings, it is easier to get approval to move the doorway for residents of a brick house.
- Completely demolish the entire main wall of the building will not be allowed under any conditions. With this option, a collapse of the floor slabs will certainly occur.
To obtain a technical opinion on admissibility, the following authorities go through the process of issuing permits:
- The owner of the property submits an application to the head of the housing office. Additionally, an apartment plan and a detailed description of future changes to the main wall are attached.
- The received permission gives the right to contact BTI employees, where specialists will develop a project and draw up new documentation. Further approval of changes to the main wall occurs with the gas and fire inspector.
- The final conclusion is made by the controlling organization.
After all the documents have been completed, redevelopment can begin.
How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall?
Making a doorway in a load-bearing wall begins with cleaning the surface. Delete everything finishing materials down to brick or concrete. The outline of the future opening is drawn on the cleaned wall. At all turns and straight sections, through holes are drilled at short intervals. On the back side of the partition, the outline of the opening is also drawn. The marks are previously made holes that help create an accurate projection.
Before cutting the passage, temporary supports for the ceiling are installed. The supports will reduce the load on the walls and support the floor slabs. Cutting along the markings begins from the bottom up. Percussion instruments It is undesirable to use, especially for panel houses.
Tools and materials used
To cut an opening in a main wall, you will need a cutting tool. The simplest option is a grinder with a diamond blade. Professionals use a wire saw or diamond-coated circular saw. Make holes with a powerful electric drill. Drills are used with diamond tips in the shape of a cone or square.
Additionally, you will need a hammer, pry bar, sledgehammer, level, and marking tool.
The materials are used to prepare a channel, angle and steel strips. Metal will be needed to strengthen the new opening.
Panel house
Cutting an opening in the load-bearing wall of a panel house begins with arranging a lintel. A through slot is made along the horizontal marking line. Its length should be greater than the width of the passage in the wall. The protrusion is needed so that the lintel has reliable support beyond the boundaries of the opening. A metal corner is inserted into the slot on both sides of the wall. To prevent the two halves of the lintel from moving apart, through holes are drilled through the wall and tightened with long bolts. The finished metal structure is walled up with concrete.
Further work continues after the solution has hardened. Cutting is carried out using a grinder with a diamond blade. First they follow the entire marking on one side of the wall, then move to the other side. The cut section is cut into squares to make them easier to dismantle. Each segment is carefully knocked out with a sledgehammer. Defects at the ends of the opening are smoothed out with a grinder.
Brick house
To make a passage in a load-bearing brick wall, perform similar actions. The difference is the marking. It is advisable to place the lines at the seams of the masonry. The upper jumper from the corner is inserted into the space between the seams. Wall cutting can be done using diamond-coated drills. First, the mortar is drilled into the seams, and then the masonry is dismantled using a pry bar.
Gain
The embedded jumper is only a safety support. To strengthen the opening in the load-bearing wall, a channel is built in from brick. The workpiece is taken 60 cm larger than the width of the opening. Windows 30 cm deep are cut out at the ends of the walls for a new lintel. If the masonry is thick, then two channels are placed on both sides of the partition. All voids are sealed with concrete mortar.
To strengthen the opening in the load-bearing wall of a panel house, a lintel from a channel or I-beam is cut in in a similar way. On both sides of the aisle they install vertical racks. The result is an opening framed by a U-shaped channel structure. The posts are welded to the lintel using electric welding.
If a project is being developed to strengthen an opening in a load-bearing wall, where it is planned to cut out an arch, a mandatory trim is constructed on the sides. The supports are placed regardless of the wall material. The upper lintel is made of bent channel. The metal elements of the arched vault are welded together.
Changing the size, location or new cutting of an opening in the main wall of a building is considered redevelopment. You cannot begin work without obtaining permits.
A panel or brick house allows you to improve the layout of a typical apartment, for example, to combine a kitchen with a room, or to make a doorway between rooms in a more convenient place (and block the old one, which is inconveniently located).
However, it must be taken into account that a new doorway in a load-bearing wall not only makes the apartment more comfortable, but also implies a certain responsibility. This means that the owner of the apartment must comply with the part relating to redevelopment, as well as those affecting this area.
Coordination of the opening in the load-bearing wall
In order for redevelopment with an opening in a load-bearing wall to be legal and safe, it should be done, and we recommend taking care of this before starting work - this way you will avoid a lot of troubles with supervisory authorities, as well as unforeseen costs to eliminate unauthorized changes. Moreover, the consequences of illegal redevelopment can be very serious. Since we are talking about a load-bearing wall, unqualified intervention can damage both it and the adjacent structures, and lead to a decrease in their design load-bearing capacity, and sometimes to partial collapse. We're not even talking about cases where a load-bearing wall is completely dismantled: this is an extremely dangerous and irresponsible step!
Decree of the Moscow Government No. 508 as amended by 840 in part of clause 2.2.4 of Appendix 1 classifies the punching of openings in load-bearing walls as activities that require the development of design documentation and technical report about the possibility of redevelopment.
Acceptance of openings in load-bearing walls by a commission
It is important to remember that work to strengthen the opening with metal structures is subject to delivery and is accompanied by registration, as well as registration. Without submitting these documents to the Moscow Housing Inspectorate upon completion of the repair, the acceptance committee will not sign it, and it will not be removed from inspection control until you provide the reports. Moreover, the owner may be required to remove the finishing trim to check the metal reinforcement of the opening in the load-bearing wall for compliance with the approved project and current rules.
Only certified contractors who have an SRO permit in construction have the right to draw up hidden work reports.
Examples of redevelopment projects with an opening in a load-bearing wall
1. This redevelopment was carried out in a series house built before 2007, so the State Unitary Enterprise MNIITEP gave the go-ahead to construct an opening in the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the room. The opening width is standard 90 cm.
2. Redevelopment project with the construction of an opening in the load-bearing wall and reinforcement metal profiles, which were a U-shaped frame made of channels. Such powerful reinforcement was due to the significant thickness of the wall of the block house of the series.
Everyone has their own reasons for “reformatting” their home - adding to the family, arranging a separate, additional room for an office, installing an arch or something else. As a rule, redevelopment does not cause any particular difficulties for owners; There are techniques that have been developed over the years. Another thing is an opening in a load-bearing wall. It is a loaded element of the building’s structure, and in this case, only the desire of the owner is clearly not enough.
General information
The owner of a private building decides independently whether to cut through the wall or not. He does not need to coordinate this issue with the supervisory authorities. But responsibility for negative consequences will fall entirely on his shoulders. If redevelopment is done in an apartment, then permission must be obtained. An opening in a load-bearing wall, constructed incorrectly, in violation of all norms and regulations, can lead to the appearance of cracks along the entire height of the building, displacement of floors, and the like. And it is unlikely that the matter will be limited to administrative penalties.
Any approval by authorities is a long procedure; sometimes the issue takes months to resolve. This time can be spent rationally if you evaluate, check and analyze something. Perhaps the problem will disappear automatically, since quite often the opening where you want is impossible in principle or is technically extremely difficult. Which means it is inappropriate.
What to consider:
- Degree of deterioration of the building.
- Wall material and thickness.
- The number of floors of the house and the level on which the dwelling is located. The maximum load is on the walls of the lower floors. For this reason, for such apartments, even if cutting an opening is allowed, its dimensions are limited.
- Whether it will be necessary to strengthen the wall in this place, by what method, with what - this question must be clarified in advance.
- Layout of the room and the distance of the opening from the external wall. And there is a limitation on this point. If the interval is less than 1 m, then work cannot be carried out, otherwise interior partition can "lead". This is mainly typical for a brick house.
- Opening geometry. Simply put, what exactly do you want to do. Basically, 2 options are implemented: a simple passage (rectangular) or an arched one. If the opening only needs to be shifted without changing its geometry, then everything is much simpler; partial expansion on one side and sealing on the other.
Conclusion - before running around the authorities, coordinating various papers, paying for an audit and the like, you should consult with a professional. Perhaps it is impossible to make an opening in this particular room.
Operating procedure
The legal side of the issue is a separate issue. From a practical point of view, something more interesting is how a passage is cut in the wall depending on its material.
Preparation stage
Home redevelopment begins with this.
- Drawing up a diagram. It is advisable to inquire whether openings were made in the apartments on the floor below/above. It is optimal if they are located equally. By the way, this will make obtaining permission somewhat easier. During the design process, the parameters of the door are also taken into account, and therefore the appropriate model should be looked at in advance. Otherwise, you will have to further expand/narrow the opening, and this is extra work.
- Cleaning the base. Before you start cutting through the wall, you need to assess its condition. If signs of rot are visible, then you will have to do treatment, impregnation with special agents. In addition, it will become clear what will be needed during the work. Making an opening in a load-bearing wall with only a set of household tools at hand will definitely not work.
You should not use an impact-type electric tool (jackhammer, hammer drill with this function). His work initiates the appearance of cracks in the wall, and where they can “go” is unknown. And this means a decrease in the strength of the structure. To cut a passage in a residential building, the only acceptable option is cutting the material with a “grinder” (with a diamond blade).
- Surface marking. This is necessary in order to obtain the correct geometry of the opening, without bevels or curvatures of its end parts. This is especially true for thick walls; It is in this case that significant errors are inevitable, since you will have to cut into the material alternately from both sides.
After drawing the contour along its perimeter, maintaining the exact direction cutting tool(perpendicular to the base), through holes are drilled (at what distance is decided on the spot). Based on them, a similar outline is drawn on the back side of the wall.
Arrangement of the opening
- Installation of supports. The feasibility of this is determined by local specifics. But logs (sleepers, beams) installed vertically in the area of the working area relieve the wall, and the load on it is reduced.
- Floor covering protection. Dust is not as bad as heavy fragments. When making a doorway in a panel house, you need to be prepared for large pieces of concrete with protruding reinforcement to fall off. Therefore, plastic film will not save the floor. It is advisable to cover it with rubber strips, thick fabric, etc. Chipboard slabs/sheets, plywood, boards will do.
- Removing material. At the first stage, you should mark the contour with an insert of a disk on both sides of the opening. After that, break it into segments and cut them out one by one. If we are talking about masonry, then it is even simpler - it is dismantled in rows.
- Processing the opening. In any case, the wall in this place must be strengthened. Therefore, it is necessary to give the passage the correct geometry. If there is little work in a brick building, then in relation to a panel house its volume increases. You will have to cut off all protruding pieces of reinforcing bar and concrete the damaged areas. The result should be a rectangle with the estimated width and height.
- Strengthening the passage. The technique is selected depending on the wall material.
- Brick. In this case, a channel is sufficient. In the upper part of the opening, small niches are arranged on both sides, where the metal blank is placed. To ensure the reliability of the stop, its edges must extend into the masonry by at least 25 cm. It is somewhat more difficult with a thick wall. To strengthen it, you will need 2 channels installed on both sides of the opening. They are tightened with through studs, onto the ends of which bolts are screwed. The cavities formed in the wall are filled with solution.
- Concrete products For concrete, a horizontal lintel alone is clearly not enough. To really strengthen the load-bearing wall, a U-shaped frame is installed in the opening. It can be made in advance (according to the dimensions of the door block) or welded during operation from strip (thick) iron, I-beam, channel. This design is fixed with anchors; Reliability cannot be achieved simply by “landing” on the solution.
If the opening is large enough, then its additional reinforcement can be made in the form of supports for the floor, stylized as columns. The easiest way is to use large-section steel pipes. There are enough options for decorating them, and the services of a specialist will not be needed.
Even at the stage of preparation for marking the wall, it is necessary to clarify exactly how the in-house electrical wiring is organized in this area. Moreover, if it was not the owner who was doing it, but someone else. The most simple technique– using a cell phone in “FM” mode. By moving it along the surface of the wall, it is easy to determine the wiring layout based on the noise level.
To increase the strength of structural elements (pipes, channels), it is advisable to perform injection. That is, introduce a solution of good fluidity into the cavity. After hardening, it will not only improve the strength of the samples, but also increase the reliability of their bonding to the base material.
In principle, making an opening in the wall is not difficult. The technology is quite simple and powerful home handyman. But only subject to proper calculations and the right choice tools and materials. Therefore, it is at the preparation stage that special attention should be paid. Everything else is a matter of time.
