Knocking a load bearing wall out

[Breathmiller]

Has anyone done this and can give advice as to cost and time?

We have a small living room and small kitchen and would like to knock through.

What's the best way to go about it?
We are in Scotland for regulations and warranties and are trying to do it on a budget.

We are in 1950s terraced house so not a listed building and the wall is 4 metres.

You'll need a structural engineer to do the calculations and sign building regs off (England though). You could get a builder round for cost estimate and he could recommend an engineer maybe.

How long is a piece of string? Depends on the size, the load, material costs etc.
I would get an architect round as they work with building surveyors who will be able to assess and advise.

Structural engineer and a builder. I wouldn't use an architect for such a small job.

We knocked through from the kitchen to dining room in November, approximately 3 mts. I think the steel was about £2000, and the Structural Engineer was about £300.

Thanks everyone.

We could start with a builder to get the ball rolling.

doodleygirl thats useful, thanks.
Was there a reason a steel lintel was used as opposed to a (cheaper ) concrete one?

@doodleygirl
An architect can advise on this just the same as a builder can, they do this stuff all the time.

Long and short is you need a structural engineer. Builder and engineer have their place but you need someone to ensure your house isn't going to fall down. It will involve ensuring that the walls the lintel is bearing onto is suitable to take the additional force. I think a steel lintel is probably best in this situation as it is spanning a longer distance. Concrete is great for shorter distances, but steel is far better for longer spans. Concrete is terrible under the tension induced by the load on the lintel. Steel can take tension well.
I also wouldn't bother with an architect. They can't advise anything the contractor or engineer won't also note so it's just wasted cost.
Disclaimer: I am a structural engineer, but I don't work in housing so I'm talking theory, not from experience.

Thanks SweetPetrichor
We will have a look at structural engineers

For anyone who did it or work in the field...are there any costs I'm not aware of?
Plastering the wall after i presume...anything else?

Having any electrics or plumbing that needs to be re-routed needs to be factored in.

Ah yes. Thanks.
There is a radiator and some plugs.
Thanks everyone.

This is all really useful.
It may be out of our budget. I'll look into it a bit more.

We would just really like a bit more space.

Matching up flooring

Yes that would be something we would have to look at too.
We actually want to swap the kitchen and living room areas so that's all part of the bigger plan. It will all have to be a work in progress i suppose. It certainly wont be a finished project. My worry is we run out of money quickly and end up living in a building site for ever.

We thought if we get the main wall done then we can do other jobs as we go along. It might all be pie in the sky.

We have a little money to do some renovations to make it all a bit nicer but it seems mad to do small things when in the long term we really want it open plan.

It was £1500 to knock out our wall (3.2 meters) and put in a steel. No structural engineer needed. Building regs signed off. We used a steel rsj rather than a stone/ concrete lintel as we wanted the opening as wide as possible and lintels are only for openings up to 2 meters ish.

Thanks so much employeewoes . It looks like we need a steel beam then too.

Did you just contact a builder then?

Yes we did. Whether you need a structural engineer will depend on where the wall is, what sort of house you have and the experience of your builder. I rang the building regs office to check.

Great. Thanks. Think we are going to look into a builder tomorrow. We have a recommendation.

Thanks everyone