Buying a house and knocking a wall down.. advice needed

[user1483644229]

We are looking to offer on a 1930s terraced house. We want to knock the wall down between the kitchen and dining room (as kitchen is tiny). We wouldn't buy the house if we can't do this. Should we get someone to assess this before we make an offer? How does this work when buying? I am a first time buyer.

Are there other houses in the area which have done the same thing?

We've just done this in our house which was built in 1939. Terraced. An engineer came out to look at it before any work was started and we have had to put a steel lintel in where the wall was

Other houses on street are different design. Adjoing two houses I don't know about. Really my question is how do we find out if this is possible before we buy rather than after?

All things are possible, some things just cost more.

Even if it is a supporting wall you need a supporting steal.

You simply need a builder or structural engineer to come and see the house with you before offering.

FTB tip: whilst you are there, get a roofer to look over the roof as even a comp survey does not cover the roof and problems there can get very costly.

I used to live in a 1930s house with a similar layout. It's likely you'll be able to do it with an RSJ beam, but depending on the layout of the rest of the room and if there are any existing extensions, you may need to keep parts of the wall in place. Most builders will be able to tell you how easy it would be and a rough cost so I'd just get someone to take a look first.

I don't think the house has been touched structurally ever.

When we were selling our last house, our buyer visited several times with various tradesman in order to obtain quotes for the work he wanted to do. We were happy to accommodate this, until one of his visits took 3 hours!

The house was only 26 years old and didn't 'need' any work doing to it but he'd decided he wanted to install an ensuite, knock a wall down to make it 3 bedrooms, instead of 4 and add a loft conversion.

3 years on and we've heard that he hasn't done a thing to it since he moved in! But at least he was fully informed before he committed to buying it.

Thank you all for your messages. We will have a think about bringing someone in to look at it.