Load-bearing, self-supporting and non-load-bearing walls - what's the difference!? How to determine a load-bearing wall? How to determine load-bearing walls in a house
Hello. In previous articles, I described the features of hidden electrical wiring in apartment buildings residential buildings, namely, the conversation was about gating walls. We can summarize these articles briefly: crushing the load-bearing walls of apartment buildings is not recommended. A simple and logical question arises: how to determine which walls are load-bearing and which are not? This is especially important when purchasing new apartment. The destruction of load-bearing walls can be an unpleasant surprise when moving to a new apartment.
Choice is important when moving from place to place. transport company. The choice of company becomes especially important when moving from another country, for example to Russia. Here, the hassle of moving is added to the paperwork, worry about the cargo crossing the border, etc. Choosing a transport company with extensive experience practical work, emphasizing services for moving to Russia will be excellent option hassle-free move. An example of such a company is GTrans LLP. A proven move to Russia from Kazakhstan along well-worn routes.
Why determine load-bearing walls in an apartment (office)
The answers to the questions “Why determine load-bearing walls” or “Which load-bearing wall” do not matter at all if you are not planning serious repairs associated with redevelopment and/or laying new hidden electrical wiring. Both redevelopment and electrical installation involve affecting the structures of the premises and, according to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, require approvals and permits if these structures are load-bearing.
Legally, the question is as clear as possible. Violation of the supporting structures of a house (building) can compromise its strength and lead to its destruction (partial or complete).
In practice, some construction companies, without fear, demolish and hammer walls, admonishing customers that “we do this all the time.” This is not an argument at all, because responsibility for illegal redevelopment and destruction of structures lies with the home owner.
How to independently determine a load-bearing wall
There are a few practical advice, how to determine whether a load-bearing wall is or not.
Brick residential building
Thickness of load-bearing walls in brick house starts from 38 cm. All other walls, 12 cm (one brick), 25 cm (two bricks), 8-12 cm ( lightweight concrete), are partitions.
Load-bearing walls in Khrushchev and Stalin buildings
The design of houses of the “Stalinka” and “Khrushchev” type is demonstrated in the photo.
- 3 longitudinal walls are load-bearing;
- Between them there are load-bearing diaphragms, they keep the load-bearing walls from falling;
- Flights of stairs are supported on load-bearing walls.
All other walls are partitions.
How to determine load-bearing walls in a house: Khrushchev
On the floor plan it will look like this.
Apartment plan Serial apartment building made of panels
We measure the thickness of the wall.
In serial panel houses the thickness of load-bearing walls is 12, 14, 18, 20 cm. The thickness of partitions in panel houses, that is, walls erected after the construction (assembly) of the house, ranges from 8-10 cm.
Conclusion 1. If the thickness of the wall (without the plaster layer) is less than 10 cm, there is a very high probability that it is not a load-bearing wall, but a partition.
Important! Design panel house is supported by load-bearing walls, and the destruction of a load-bearing wall violates the integrity of the structure of the entire house.
Find out the series of your house and see the architectural layout
Panel apartment buildings serial and each house belongs to a specific series. On the Internet you can find quite complete sites with descriptions and photos of serial panel houses. By house series, you can easily find the authors of the project and the design of your house. The design of the house (apartment) clearly shows the load-bearing walls (they are shaded and/or thicker than the others). An alternative to the project may be communication with the BTI or the management company of your home.
Multi-apartment monolithic building
In new buildings it is a monolith, it is easy to determine load-bearing walls. Load-bearing walls are visible visually. Rovnaya concrete wall, a load-bearing partition made of blocks.
In habitable monolithic houses, somewhat more complicated. A partition is definitely a wall less than 20 cm thick. However, a wall thicker than 20 cm can be either a partition or a load-bearing structure. In this case, only the architectural section of the working design will help determine whether the wall is load-bearing or not. He must have management company. Load-bearing walls will be shaded.
What work is prohibited for load-bearing walls?
In conclusion, there are several do’s and don’ts for load-bearing walls:
- It is impossible to completely demolish a load-bearing wall in any building () and it is impossible to obtain legal approval for such demolition.
- move a load-bearing wall;
- make an opening in a load-bearing wall without approval and design;
- It is forbidden (in Moscow) to make any furrows for electrical wiring, as well as water and heating pipes. (PPM No. 508)
- Can! Drill load-bearing walls for hanging furniture and appliances, and you can also make through holes in load-bearing walls for passing water pipes, embedded electrical cables, and ventilation.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is quite possible to determine the load-bearing walls in your apartment yourself.
Many people are faced with the desire to make some adjustments to the existing apartment design. And here the question arises - which walls are load-bearing and which are ordinary partitions.
Let's be clear right away, what is a load-bearing wall? This is the wall on which structural elements located on subsequent floors rest. And what is noteworthy is that load-bearing walls can be replaced with beams and columns, since they perform the same function - supporting the integrity of the entire structure.
If the redevelopment is carried out incorrectly and the load-bearing wall is demolished, this can lead to big problems- starting with cracks in the structure and ending with the collapse of ceilings. In order to competently rebuild your apartment, you need to know in advance which walls can be demolished during redevelopment and which cannot.
Correct, competent and safe redevelopment can only be carried out by professionals - engineers and builders. Regardless of the scale of the reconstruction, be it a small niche in the wall or the demolition of an entire wall.
Therefore, the first thing that is done before planning is to invite specialists from the BTI, who must give you permission for redevelopment, which will already mark all the walls that can be changed or demolished. And only after this can you discuss the intricacies of redevelopment with builders and architects.
Also, if you get everything permits before starting work, there is a chance not to let this issue go into a long box. After all, apartments with unauthorized redevelopment cannot be sold, and if such a need suddenly arises, it is quite difficult and problematic to legalize a ready-made redevelopment. But if you are interested in knowing about the gradation of walls in an apartment before the official verdict, we will tell you a few simple ways how to do it yourself.
Methods for determining load-bearing walls
So, the first, simplest and most accurate is to find the structural plan of the house, which is stored in the capital construction department, which is located in the city Executive Committee, also known as the Executive Committee. There is also a technical passport of the apartment, which all apartment owners have, but you can understand it only if you know how to read construction drawings.
If you were unable to get a plan, then you can try to determine the load-bearing wall by its thickness and location.
Wall thickness
In a brick house, all walls thicker than 38 cm are load-bearing. The thickness of the walls in such houses is determined by the number of bricks laid out in a row. One brick is 12 cm, which means simple arithmetic works: 250 mm is a wall of two bricks + a 10 mm seam between them. 380 mm is a wall of three bricks + 2 joints of 10 mm each. 510 mm is a wall of four bricks + 3 joints of 10 mm each. 640 mm is a wall of five bricks + 4 joints of 10 mm each. and so on. Interior partitions are built from brick or concrete blocks and range in thickness from 12 to 18 cm. The walls between apartments are slightly thicker - 25cm.
In the panel - all walls thicker than 14 cm are load-bearing. Unfortunately, in these types of houses it is very difficult to realize all your ideas, since most of the walls in such houses are load-bearing. Partitions in panel houses are much thinner than load-bearing walls - only 8-10 cm. There is also a nuance - the thickness of the load-bearing walls in panel houses can be 12 cm, it depends on the series of the house. So what should we do? Should such a wall be considered a thickened partition or a load-bearing wall? The final answer will only be given to you by an engineer in the relevant organization that issues an opinion on the technical specifications of your project.
Wall thickness is measured excluding plaster and wallpaper. So it’s better to take measurements after all the walls have been cleaned of the old finish.
In monolithic houses - a wall thicker than 20 cm is load-bearing. The surest way for such houses is to take a floor plan from the developer. Since there is now a huge variety of design solutions, in such houses it can be very difficult to determine the load-bearing wall simply by its thickness. For example, in a monolithic frame house, there may be no load-bearing walls at all. And there are cases when a simple partition is thicker than 20cm. So just architectural plan will be able to clarify this issue.
By location
The outer walls make up the “building box” and are load-bearing. Load-bearing walls also include walls that face flight of stairs and interior walls that face the neighboring apartment.
So, when you managed to identify the load-bearing walls in the apartment, and it turned out that they are the ones you need to change, remember: you cannot remove the load-bearing wall completely, leaving the upper floors without support. You can remove only a small part of it, and place metal supporting structures in the resulting opening, which can then be easily hidden under false beams. Or when removing an entire wall, you need to provide strong support with studs or columns. The thickness and location of which can only be determined for you by specialists when issuing permission to reconstruct the apartment.
Remember! It is very important not to neglect the opinion of professionals during redevelopment and not to engage in amateur activities, which may be fraught with consequences, not only for your apartment, but also for the apartments around you.
Getting started major renovation or remodeling a house, you must first understand what load-bearing walls are and correctly determine where they are located in the house. After all, even an incorrectly executed small opening in a load-bearing wall threatens to result in partial or even complete destruction the entire structure of the house.
How does a load-bearing wall differ from a regular partition?
The main difference by which you can accurately determine which partition is in front of you is the load it takes on. Ordinary interior partitions do not support anything and are loaded only by their own weight, which is why they are called self-supporting walls. Partitions that take on not only their own weight, but also part of the weight of the structures located above them: interfloor slabs floors, ceiling beams or walls upper floors, are load-bearing.
Therefore, cutting openings in load-bearing walls is strongly discouraged, and completely demolishing them is strictly prohibited - this can cause the destruction of the house. Self-supporting walls They perform exclusively separating and decorative functions, so if necessary, they can be rebuilt without problems and even completely removed - the strength and stability of the house will not suffer from this.
But, having an idea of the difference between the walls, you also need to know how to determine the load-bearing wall. The easiest way to see this is on the house plan - it is enough to have at least minimal skills in reading such documents. But there are often cases when a plan cannot be found. In this case, such a wall can be identified by the following criteria:
- location;
- thickness.
Regardless of the construction material, almost all external walls are load-bearing. They will also be partitions facing flight of stairs. In the vast majority of cases, partitions separating neighboring apartments also fall under this definition.
In many cases, the purpose of a wall can be determined by its thickness, although there are many nuances here. In brick houses, all walls with a thickness of 380 mm or more are load-bearing. The calculation is simple: the width of one standard brick is 120 mm, the laying joint is 10 mm. Accordingly, 3x120 mm = 360 mm + 2 seams of 10 mm each - another 20 mm, and in the end - 380 mm.
Standard interior partitions in a brick house are made of 1-1.5 bricks, i.e. their thickness does not exceed 180 mm. Most difficult option, if their thickness is 250 mm (this often happens in houses built according to individual projects after 1990). In this case, you cannot do without the involvement of a specialist, since only he will be able to figure out what functions such a partition performs. Important nuance— the thickness of the walls should be taken without a finishing layer.
In panel and block houses all walls with a thickness of 140 mm and more are load-bearing. Thickness interior partitions is only 80-100 mm, but there are panel apartments very little. In fact, in such houses, almost all the walls are load-bearing, so it is very difficult to remodel such apartments, especially at your own discretion. It happens, although rarely, that the thickness of interior partitions in a panel house is 120 mm. In this case, there is no other choice but to find out from specialists which partitions can be rebuilt and which cannot.
The situation is much better with apartments in Khrushchev buildings. When constructing it is used standard scheme: the load-bearing walls in the “Khrushchev” are all longitudinal, and the partitions are all transverse. In such houses, the wall separating the balcony from the living room does not experience much load and can be dismantled.
How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall?
In load-bearing internal partitions, the arrangement of any opening is undesirable, but still often they have to be made, for example, to install interior door. However, the number, size and location of these openings are calculated by specialists at the design stage of the house.
If during redevelopment it becomes necessary to make an opening in a load-bearing wall, then under no circumstances should you do it yourself. Firstly, this is very dangerous, and secondly, in the future, an apartment with a “leftist”, illegal redevelopment will be impossible to sell, donate, or register an inheritance for, and it will be almost impossible to legitimize and receive the project.
Therefore, if you decide to remodel your apartment, then first obtain all the necessary permits and approvals from the relevant government services.
If during the work there is a need for some manipulations with the load-bearing wall, then it is necessary to involve specialists to carry them out. And to carry out partial dismantling (if you need to make a new door or window opening in a load-bearing wall), you need to invite an engineer from a company specializing in such work (and having the appropriate permits and licenses), concluding a written agreement with her.
Such specialists know exactly how to properly dismantle part of the partition, how to strengthen its strength in order to prevent destruction, in which cases it is necessary to install additional support, and in which cases a horizontal metal or reinforced concrete lintel can be used. Therefore, the chances that everything will be fine in the end are very high. And it is also important that in case of poor quality work, you still have the opportunity to demand compensation for damages through the court.
As a conclusion
When deciding whether to remodel your home yourself or not, remember that the slightest mistake when calculating and performing such work, it puts at risk not only your life, but also the lives of your loved ones, and if it comes to a high-rise building, then the lives of many of your neighbors, because even a barely noticeable microcrack in a load-bearing wall can cause the collapse of the entire house, and to restore the solidity of such walls often cost much more than all the house remodeling work.
If you have a need for renovation and redevelopment, then you need to know where the load-bearing or non-load-bearing walls are in your apartment and which of them can be affected.
It is quite difficult for a non-specialist to determine the location of the walls by assessing them according to the BTI plan, by visual guessing, by tapping, or by measuring their thickness. It is possible to guess more accurately, but it is impossible to get an exact answer.
1. BTI documents
Basically, there is an opinion that everything you need about an apartment can be seen from the BTI documents. These documents are available for two types of apartments
1. Floor plan + explication
2. Technical passport of BTI
So, a floor plan, in principle, is not suitable for analyzing apartment structures. This is just a drawing of your apartment and that's it.
But the Technical Data Sheet of the BTI may be somewhat more useful, but it is only useful if you are interested in the area of the premises.
In addition, you can find out in it what material the building was built from, in what year and other technical details, but regarding the type of walls, you will not find answers in this document.
2. Tapping
Also, the method is very ambiguous. For example, in panel houses there are non-load-bearing partitions made of concrete ( that is, the walls are “very strong”), and they also have reinforcement.
3. Thickness measurement
A wall in an apartment is never “bare”. There is usually some layer of plaster on the wall. One centimeter is the standard case, but sometimes more. Therefore, by measuring its thickness, you can make a mistake by 2-4 cm and assume that the wall is load-bearing, but in fact it may not be load-bearing. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the thickness of the wall “in its pure” form, without plaster layers.
The only “more or less” adequate way to determine the structure of a wall is to open it.
That is, a hole is made in the wall, the thickness of the wall is measured without plaster layers, and an immediate understanding of what the wall consists of appears.
We will also comment on why, according to the BTI plan, it is difficult to determine where the load-bearing wall is and where it is not, and we will give several examples.
Try to determine from them where the walls are load-bearing and where are not load-bearing. At the very end of the article, these walls will be described in the attached pictures.
Only presented here standard series from which “more or less” with some probability one can understand and assume something.
For older houses or houses of individual series, the situation is much more confusing, where even a redevelopment specialist who has worked for many years cannot always unambiguously determine the type of structure, even from experience. You can “estimate” the probability, but definitely say no.
So, below are the BTI plans for standard house, try to determine where the walls are load-bearing and where they are not:
You can see scanned plans of apartments in panel houses, on some of them the load-bearing walls are marked with wider lines, on others, all the walls are shown the same thickness, which can give the wrong idea about their purpose. The wall between the living room and the kitchen in panel houses is usually a load-bearing wall, while this cannot be clearly understood from the BTI plans.
The fact is that BTI engineers only measure the premises, that is, their area, and they are not interested in the thickness, purpose and material of the interior walls.
(And reflecting on a scale of 1:200 a load-bearing wall 14 cm or 16 cm thick from a non-load-bearing partition 12 cm thick is not even technically possible)
For a specialist, it may be enough to know what series of apartments is in front of him in order to understand the purpose of the wall, but for non-specialists, to be sure, it is necessary to refer to the developer’s plan, on which load-bearing walls are marked with shading or axes, and non-load-bearing partitions are indicated with thinner lines.
Sometimes you can also find a technical passport of an apartment from the developer, where all the structures are described, but this is very rare.
Since redevelopment will require the development of a redevelopment project, you can forward your question to specialists who will figure out in which wall openings can be made.
We often encounter situations when an owner comes to us with, say, an opening already made in a load-bearing wall. Moreover, the builders who "done this a hundred times" they assured him that the wall was not load-bearing and could be completely demolished, but they were just doing "small little hole" and the wall turns out to be load-bearing and we begin to work with an already quite complex object in which the opening is of an unacceptable size, not in an acceptable location and not yet properly reinforced or without reinforcement at all.
Our company has been coordinating redevelopments in apartments and non-residential premises, and therefore we can easily determine whether the wall is load-bearing.
Call us, we will be happy to advise you on your property.
Answers on the location of load-bearing walls and non-load-bearing partitions in the pictures below:
Many people, especially those living in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings, try to remodel their small and uncomfortable apartments using redevelopment. But it’s one thing to do it in an individual building, and quite another to change a doorway or move a partition in a high-rise building, where almost every wall is load-bearing. All this ensures the safety of residents in combination with the entire technical design of the house.
What is redevelopment? According to the Housing Code, this concept includes all changes in the configuration of the apartment that require inclusion in the technical passport. This:
- changing the location of load-bearing walls and partitions,
- relocation of window and door openings,
- re-equipment of vestibules and dark storage rooms,
- interior arrangement,
- refurbishment of bathrooms,
- division of large rooms,
- expansion of living space due to household premises,
- glazing of a balcony or loggia,
- replacement gas stoves to electrical
- moving a bathroom, kitchen or toilet.
All these types of changes in the apartment are subject to redevelopment and the relevant authorities.
What cannot be demolished: a load-bearing wall
Most often, redevelopment involves the demolition of interior partitions. But not everyone knows which walls can be touched and which ones cannot. Reckless demolition of structures leads to a change in the action of forces on the remaining surfaces and rooms located below. In addition, ceilings left without support may not withstand the load and collapse at any time. Since, in addition to separation different rooms, wall elements serve as supports ceiling for all higher located, similar structural elements.
The main (load-bearing) walls in practice are located perpendicular to the floor beams. If it is made from concrete slabs, then their ends rest on the surface of the supporting structure. Usually these are walls between apartments and blocks, or external ones. As a rule, only partitions are equipped inside the apartment.
How to find out which wall is load-bearing?
Is it possible to determine the purpose of the wall yourself? Certainly. By its thickness or the material from which it is built. In panel houses indoor units have a thickness of up to 120 mm. Therefore, they can be considered partitions (their thickness ranges from 80-120 mm). The load-bearing surface must have a thickness of at least 140 mm. Most often, in such houses, the external walls are made with a thickness of 200 mm. In brick houses - external, bearing structures have a thickness of 380 mm or more, inter-apartment - 250 mm, and partitions - 120 or 80 mm.
The material most often used for load-bearing walls in panel houses is wall or inter-apartment blocks made of reinforced concrete with various additives to lighten the structure and increase thermal protection. Internal partitions in 90% of panel houses are made of gypsum concrete panels. In brick buildings, the main material for all walls is red and sand-lime brick, differing in size. Gypsum concrete panels can also be used as partitions.
Of course, no one is going to demolish the outer walls, but the partitions can be removed by obtaining the appropriate permission. To accurately determine which wall is load-bearing, it is best to use BTI data - a detailed floor plan. Everything is marked with bolder lines. capital walls, and partitions that do not have such functions are marked with thinner lines.
What is needed for demolition?
In any case, before starting work on demolishing a particular wall and moving it, you need to consult a qualified specialist. As well as a full calculation that takes into account the distribution of loads that must be transferred from old structures to newly erected ones. In addition, you may have to change the power supply circuit. In addition, it must be borne in mind that uncoordinated demolition of the walls of the premises may prevent its sale or the preparation of donation documents, etc. But that’s not all. Such actions are considered illegal and entail fines, summonses to court, and can even lead to confiscation of the apartment.
Therefore, approval of the redevelopment project is necessary in any case. What is needed for that?
- A plan developed by the BTI service specifically for this type redevelopment.
- Compilation technical report to demolish the wall.
- Obtaining a positive conclusion from the housing inspection at the place of registration.
