Getting rid of an external wall for an extension....

[IlanaK]

how big a job is this? I mean, does it make the extension twice as expensive or take twice as long?

No but it will make it twice as messy. The wall be knocked through and a steel beam inserted to take the weight. It will add to the cost but not excessively.

we had an external wall knocked down for our kitchen extension. (it took the builders a morning of hard labour!) and i think the steel beam cost a few hundred pounds. it's the mess you have to think about - never seen anything like it!

Thanks! Ok, mess I can cope with (I think!) to get the gain in the long run.

Mine have just done this upstairs - it was to extend 3 room supstairs which we managed to putout of use whilst it happened so they sealed up the doors to the rooms and cracked on with it - it wasnt that bad.

it very much depends on whether the foundations have to be shored up too.

Foundations - hmmmm. This is a house built in the 1880's. Quite a big one (though we are only talking about a ground floor flat). Did they do good foundations then?