Carrying out works that remove load-bearing walls
Enquiry:
We have sometimes been asked (by email) about cases where, after buying a flat, the owners carried out a renovation. In the living room, or in another room, to gain space or light, or for any other reason, they removed a load-bearing wall.
Straight away, the neighbour upstairs or downstairs complained, because cracks have appeared in her home, exactly in the area where the wall used to be. The person making the enquiry had already contacted her insurer and was told that the insurance does not cover this, and even that the insurer of the owner whose home has cracked will most likely say the same, so that owner will sue her and force her to put everything back as it was.
“We are desperate”, the neighbour who removed the wall tells us, because they have just moved in and it is very awkward, and that is why they are asking us for help and advice, in case there is some way of sorting all this out, “since the renovation cost us quite a lot”.
(We think the best that can happen is that the owner making the enquiry is mistaken and believes she has removed a load-bearing wall when it was really a partition wall built with a type of large brick. Because however ignorant the builder who knocked it down may be, he would have to be very, very reckless not to realise, as he was demolishing it, that he was knocking down a load-bearing wall. Buildings today are normally built with frame structures and columns, and it is rare to find buildings with load-bearing walls, except for detached houses or single-storey villas.)
Answer:
Regardless of whether the renovation cost a lot or a little, or of what the insurers told each of them (insurers never cover this kind of damage), the matter may be serious.
Touching a load-bearing wall in a building and carrying out works without the supervision of an architect is, in general terms, reckless, and even more so when the wall is removed, wherever it may be, because a load-bearing wall does the job of a column; and by removing it, the stability of the entire building is being compromised, since load-bearing walls form the structure of the building and must not be touched.
In any event, you should always act under the supervision of an architect, who must analyse the design and the building and know where the main loads are, in order to ensure the stability and balance of the whole building.
It is only logical that the neighbouring owner should be alarmed (and she is right to be), especially if cracks have appeared in her home.
Before carrying out any works affecting load-bearing walls or communal elements, you must follow these steps:
- First and foremost: commission a technical report from a registered architect, who will certify whether or not the works can be carried out.
- Request permission, in writing, from the homeowners’ association. This is essential, since it is a communal element.
- Apply to the town council’s technical department for a building permit, and make sure it is granted.
Even if, in the best-case scenario, it was only a partition wall (in the case of the lady making the enquiry), it is not surprising that cracks or hairline cracks should appear, because, as the old hands in the trade say, “partition walls also carry loads”.
The matter can be serious: load-bearing walls are not to be played with, nor touched without knowing what you are doing.
Any questions?