How to determine which walls are load-bearing. How to determine if a wall is load bearing? What are the methods for determining load-bearing walls

How to determine if a wall is load bearing

Many people, wanting to make their apartment more spacious, cozier or more functional, decide to arrange a redevelopment. This is a serious decision, which accordingly requires a serious approach. It is not enough just to make an opening in the wall or, moreover, to demolish it by combining two adjacent rooms. It is necessary to know which walls in the house are load-bearing, whether it is possible to make an opening in them or demolish them so that this does not lead to a violation of the strength of the building and does not endanger its inhabitants. And for work, it is better to contact a specialized organization that deals with diamond cutting of concrete. In any case, redevelopment must be coordinated with the local government. Administrative punishment is provided for spontaneous redevelopment.

So. How can you tell if a wall is load bearing?

load-bearing walls It is customary to call walls that take on the load from the floors and roof of the building and transfer it to the foundation. The thickness of the wall depends on the material from which it is made and what load it carries. Bearing walls can be internal and external. Internal load-bearing walls are usually thinner than external ones due to the absence of the need for heat-insulating layers.

Designation of load-bearing walls on the plan

The first way to determine which walls are load-bearing is to refer to the building plan. This may be an architectural and construction plan of a working project for a building or a floor plan from the BTI passport. Unfortunately, there is no standard for the designation of load-bearing walls on the plan. For example, in the architectural and construction plan, load-bearing walls are highlighted with separate hatching, and on the BTI plan, with thicker lines, but not always. The wall can be indicated by a thin line and at the same time be a carrier.

Determination of load-bearing walls by thickness

The second way to find out which wall is load-bearing, by its location and thickness.

Bearing walls in a brick house

The thickness of the walls in brick houses is a multiple of the size of the brick (120 mm), plus the thickness of the mortar joint (10 mm), if there is more than one masonry. Accordingly, brick walls can be 120, 250, 380, 520, 640 mm thick, etc. Basically, in brick residential buildings, internal partitions are made of brick or gypsum concrete panels with a thickness of 80 or 120 mm. Inter-apartment partitions 250 mm thick brick or 200 mm double panels with air gap. Bearing walls in a brick house have a thickness of 380 mm.

Most of the brick houses built according to standard series are the so-called "Stalinka" and "Khrushchev". Both of these types have similar design solutions and are made in the form of three longitudinal load-bearing and transverse walls, which support the longitudinal and, in general, are also load-bearing.

Also, the walls are load-bearing, on which interfloor floor slabs are supported (short side). Usually these are longitudinal load-bearing walls. There is an option when the floor slab rests on a reinforced concrete beam of rectangular section. Which, in turn, rests on load-bearing walls or brick pillars. Under the beams, as a rule, interroom or interroom partitions are installed.

Bearing walls in a panel house

In panel houses, the thickness of internal partitions ranges from 80 mm to 120 mm, made of gypsum concrete panels. And, internal load-bearing walls are reinforced concrete panels with a thickness of 140, 180 or 200 mm. External load-bearing walls in a panel house have a thickness of 200 mm or more. Most often, these are single-layer panels of expanded clay concrete with a thickness of 300-350 mm or multi-layer consisting of two reinforced concrete panels with a thickness of 60 mm (external) and 80-100 mm (internal), separated by a heater. Eventually, load-bearing walls in a panel house have a thickness of 120 mm or more.

Bearing walls in a monolithic house

With load-bearing walls in a monolithic house, not everything is clear. It is not always possible to identify them. In addition, they may not exist (for example, in monolithic-frame buildings). In residential monolithic houses there are various designs. Such as, monolithic load-bearing walls, columns, pylons, beams, etc. The standard thickness of walls and pylons is 200, 250, 300 mm. The diameter of the bearing columns can be more than 300 mm. The thickness of the internal walls, usually made of aerated concrete blocks, is from 200 mm. In this way, the thickness of non-bearing partitions is less than 200 mm. But, the opposite is not necessarily true for a load-bearing wall. Since, in monolithic houses, partitions can be more than 200 mm thick (for example, from foam blocks).

If any of the above methods causes you difficulties, you will need to seek help from specialists in design organizations to conduct an engineering survey. Most often this is necessary in the case of a non-standard building, a building on an individual project or an old building.

The load-bearing wall is the basis of the building, we do redevelopment very carefully

Bearing walls are supporting structures

Load-bearing walls are the pillars of the entire structure. After all, it is on them that the entire frame rests. Therefore, a violation of this design can lead to disastrous results. Redevelopment requires special knowledge and skills.

Engineers and builders - only these people can correctly and competently redevelop the premises. Therefore, if you are planning to demolish a wall or just make a niche, then you should immediately contact the professionals.

No matter how much work you need to do, even if you want to just make a recess in the wall, it is very important to follow the advice and opinions of professionals.

Start of redevelopment

Everyone knows that load-bearing walls cannot be demolished and broken. But sometimes redevelopment is exactly what is required. First of all, you should figure out which walls are load-bearing and after that decide what and how to do.

We do everything in the following order:

• You should start by inviting specialists from the BTI who will issue you the appropriate permit if redevelopment is possible and safe. The issued document indicates the walls that can be demolished without compromising the strength of the apartment and house. After these procedures, you can contact architects and builders to start redevelopment and further repair work.
• In addition, it is very important not to forget that redevelopment must be legalized, otherwise problems may arise with the further sale of the apartment. However, it will take a lot of time and effort to legitimize the finished redevelopment.
• If you are interested in knowing in advance which walls in your apartment are load-bearing, then there are several simple ways that will allow you to install this. Each person can determine for himself which walls of the apartment are load-bearing, in order to think over future redevelopment in advance, and after receiving the official results, simply adjust it in accordance with safety requirements.

Having decided to start repairing and rebuilding load-bearing walls, or making arches (see Arch in an apartment: transformation into a decorative structure) or doors, you need to decide how realistic it is to do it. And to understand which walls in the apartment are bearing, what is their function and what can be done with them. Let's deal with these questions in order.

What are the requirements for load-bearing walls

Walls, ceilings, floors are load-bearing structures in principle in all buildings. It is walls, not partitions (see Partitions and walls - what is the difference).

Certain requirements are imposed on them, and if the design is changed, the requirements must be met, and they are as follows:

They must be strong, durable and stable, as this is the support of the entire building. They carry the weight of the roof and ceiling.

How to identify a load bearing wall

The walls of houses and apartments perform different functions and experience different loads. Load-bearing walls take on the load not only of their own weight, but also the weight of ceilings. Having conceived a major overhaul associated with redevelopment, you just need to know how to determine the load-bearing wall.

The load-bearing wall is installed perpendicular to the slab that rests on it. That is, the plate lies with its short side on the wall, giving it a significant part of its mass. In buildings, load-bearing walls are not always used. Sometimes columns or beams are placed instead. But basically, load-bearing walls are installed in residential premises during construction, which in some cases is easy to determine, in others it is difficult.

Bearing wall - support for floor slabs

We note in advance that operations carried out with load-bearing walls, including internal wiring, arranging niches and various openings, should not be carried out on your own without professional skills. About arches. doorways, long stretches or partial demolition is out of the question.

How to determine which wall is load-bearing

The easiest way to find a load-bearing wall is to familiarize yourself with the plan of the house. On it, this wall is marked quite clearly. The plan can be found at the local executive committee in the capital construction department. You can also use the detailed plan of the apartment, located in the house book or registration certificate. But in this case, the owner must have some building experience and skills in reading drawings.

You can also look at such a plan together with the neighbors living on the floor above. Their design should specify which wall their floor structure rests on. If the apartment is on the top floor, you can climb into the attic and pay attention to how the slabs lie.

Note! If there is even the slightest drop of uncertainty, in no case do not touch the wall, as this can be very expensive.

The thickness of the brick load-bearing wall

If the plan cannot be obtained, we will determine the bearing wall by characteristic features. The location of a wall can say a lot about its purpose. The walls facing the staircase hall, as well as the internal walls bordering the neighbors' apartment, are load-bearing. In addition, some external walls bordering the environment may also be load-bearing. They can make up the box of the building, and take on the entire load.

The next way to determine such a wall is to pay attention to its thickness. If the thickness of the brickwork is 38 centimeters or more, and if the reinforced concrete panel has a thickness of more than 14 cm, then these walls are load-bearing. Now more about this.

brick houses

The width of the brick is 12 cm. The cement joint between the bricks takes an average of 1 cm. Simple mathematics tells us that 38 cm is a three-brick masonry in which there are two joints (12+1+12+1+12=38). 51 cm - 4-brick masonry; 64 cm - 5-brick, etc. Interior walls are usually no thicker than 18 cm. The thickness of the walls is determined without plaster. Therefore, before measuring, it is better to clean the walls of the old finish.

In brick houses built in the 90s and later, the situation is a little more complicated. They were most likely built on an individual project, and the author of the layout will help determine the load-bearing wall.

Panel houses

Bearing walls in a panel house

It is very difficult to realize your building ideas in a panel or block house, since most of the walls in it are load-bearing. These include inter-apartment, and external and perpendicular to the external walls. The walls of the sanitary rooms are also load-bearing.

Partitions between rooms are only 80-100 mm. But there are exceptional cases when in such houses the thickness of the walls is 12 centimeters wide. Should it be considered a carrier, or is it just a thickened partition? In this case, it is necessary to turn to competent people for help, who will draw a conclusion based on the architectural design of the building. They will also decide whether further work can be carried out in the house or not.

Monolithic houses

How to recognize a load-bearing wall in a monolithic house? In houses, the foundation of which smoothly passes into the frame of the building, any wall with a thickness of more than 20 cm is considered to be load-bearing. However, in such houses, which are often built not according to the standard, but according to the design decision of the customer, it is not enough to be guided by the same dimensions to determine the load-bearing wall. A simple partition in a monolithic house can be thicker than 20 cm. And there are houses where there are no load-bearing walls at all. Instead, reliable columns are used. Therefore, a building plan and a drawing can serve as a help. If for some reason they are not available, then the verdict of authorized persons cannot be dispensed with.

Permission from the relevant authorities.

Many do not want to contact officials and prefer to resolve such important issues on their own. But this is fraught with gross errors. Do not be afraid to call specialists to your home for advice and permission. Moreover, if you find on the wall, even if it is not bearing, the slightest cracks, a damp or crumbling area, invite an inspector who will assess the degree of damage and give advice.

Note! Any redevelopment, regardless of the type of apartment, whether it is Khrushchev or a cottage house, requires the consent and written permission of the BTI or other relevant government services. Works on load-bearing walls, even if performed by a professional, also require a permit.

If you still have to carry out some dismantling of the bearing walls, they should be carried out by a competent specialist who knows how to install temporary columns that take on the weight of the slab instead of the wall. Representatives of authorized organizations, engineers licensed for this construction activity should monitor the process and carry out calculations of such columns.

Note! It is impossible to sell an apartment with an illegal redevelopment, and it will be very difficult and problematic to get a project for an already converted apartment.

It is not necessary to think that the planned work is insignificant, and it is not worth it to call the brigade. The slightest mistake can cost the lives of many people, because an imperceptible microcrack in the load-bearing wall can eventually lead to the collapse of the building.

Work carried out on load-bearing walls

Installation of a support during the demolition of a load-bearing wall

If you decide to carry out work on load-bearing walls, for example, ditching ditches, do it with the utmost care. If there are sockets or switches on the wall. remember that wiring is hidden inside the wall. which, if the room is not de-energized, can disable the power supply system and cause injury to the worker. If the house is old, there may even be a gas pipe in the wall. Work carefully and, if possible, use a project where all these nuances are noted.

Note! Never forget that you can not demolish a load-bearing wall, leaving the floor without support.

If professional skills allow you to take on the partial removal of the wall, do not forget to place a support in the resulting opening, which can be hidden with false beams over time.

Additional tips can be found below:

Having bought an apartment, people often think about its redevelopment. The same thoughts visit the residents of small apartments, the so-called "Khrushchev". And if problems rarely arise in a private house with redevelopment, then in an apartment of high-rise buildings, where almost every wall is load-bearing, this will not be easy to do.

They bear the load from ceilings and upper floors. Therefore, having decided to expand the doorway or move the partition, you should correctly determine which wall is the carrier. The safety of you and your neighbors will depend on this.

How do you know if a wall is load bearing?

The easiest way is to look at the project at home. All walls are clearly marked. The plan must be kept in the city administration, in the department of capital construction.

In addition, you can also use the plan of the apartment, which is located in those. passport or house book. However, for this you need to be able to read blueprints or have experience in construction.

Video: Olga Rozina: how to define a wall

If for some reason the plan cannot be found, then the appointment can be understood by some characteristic features. So for example, if there is a neighboring apartment behind the wall, the entrance or street is load-bearing.

Another way to find out is by thickness. If you live in a brick house and the thickness of the partition is 38 cm, then it is load-bearing. In the panel, the thickness of the bearing walls is 14 cm or more.

In a brick house

In brick houses, the thickness of the exterior starts from 38 cm, between apartments from 25 cm, interior - 8 - 12 cm. The main material in the construction of such houses is silicate and red brick.

Gypsum boards can be used for partitions. By measuring the wall, for example, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe doorway, you can understand whether it is capital or a partition.

However, this method is not suitable for all houses. For example, in the 90s, houses were built according to individual projects, so if there is no plan, then only the author of the project can determine.

In the panel

Since the panel house consists almost entirely of carriers, it will be very difficult to implement the planned redevelopment. The load-bearing walls include - inter-apartment, external and adjacent to the external. In addition, the walls of the bathrooms can also be load-bearing.

Interroom partitions have a thickness of 8 - 10 mm. There are partitions and 12 cm each, but this is a rare exception. To determine the purpose of the walls in this case, it is better to contact specialists who will draw a conclusion only after studying the design features of the building and decide whether it is possible.

In monolithic houses

A monolithic house is a building, the foundation of which smoothly passes into the wall. In such buildings, any wall with a thickness of more than 20 cm is a load-bearing wall. Such buildings are usually made according to an individual project; it will not be possible to determine using its size.

It happens that the usual interior partition in monolithic buildings has a thickness of more than 20 cm. There are monolithic houses in which load-bearing walls are completely absent. They are replaced by reinforced concrete columns.

And in this case, you can’t do without a drawing and a plan. If they are not available, you will have to contact specialized companies.

A load-bearing wall is a wall on which elements located on the upper floors of an apartment building rest. It takes on the load of beams, slabs, ordinary partitions and balconies, keeping the integrity of the entire structure from the roof to the foundation.
If the redevelopment is carried out incorrectly, the load-bearing wall is demolished or damaged, then this will be fraught with big problems - from cracks in the structure to its collapse.
AiF.ru tells how to determine that the wall is load-bearing.
There are several ways to find out the technical characteristics of the walls:

How to carry out a safe redesign?

Safe redevelopment of an apartment or house can only be carried out by professionals. Regardless of the scale of the reconstruction, it is necessary to invite specialists from the BTI and Moszhilisnpektsii, who, after an engineering survey, will issue you an official permit for redevelopment, indicating all the walls that can or cannot be demolished.

What punishment awaits a person for unauthorized redevelopment?

Any changes that are made to the housing layout in relation to the original BTI plan must be agreed with the Moscow Housing Inspectorate. This is required by the housing legislation of the Russian Federation and Moscow.
In the absence of permits, redevelopment is considered unauthorized, and therefore illegal. In this case, according to Art. 7.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, you will be fined for illegal redevelopment in the amount of 2 to 2.5 thousand rubles. For legal entities, it is much larger - from 350 thousand to 1 million rubles.
In addition to a fine, for illegal redevelopment of an apartment, the violator is issued an order, according to which the violator will be obliged either to legalize the redevelopment, or to return the state of the apartment to its original state.
The thickness of the wall must be measured in its “pure form”, that is, the thickness of the pasted wallpaper and plaster should not be taken into account. Sometimes, in order to make a measurement, you need to drill a through hole in the wall.

If you decide to carry out redevelopment in your apartment related to the unification of premises, you must first understand whether the walls affected are load-bearing. Doorways in load-bearing walls must be coordinated with the supervisory authorities for the redevelopment project with the execution of a technical report from the author of the house project.

The demolition of a load-bearing wall or part of it is strictly prohibited, as it violates the power circuit of the building and threatens with cracks or even collapses due to improper redistribution of loads.

At the same time, the dismantling of non-bearing interior partitions does not threaten the safety of the house and its residents, and therefore can in most cases be agreed with the Moscow Housing Inspectorate according to a simple redevelopment sketch.

Based on the above, we see that without clarifying for yourself whether the wall is load-bearing or not, it is better not to start redevelopment . There, however, this does not stop many owners. So, on various Internet portals for design and repair, there are many examples of redevelopment, where designers "do what they want" with load-bearing walls, not taking into account all the consequences of such repairs.

As a result, the customer receives an illegal redevelopment, the neighbors get cracks in the ceiling, and the inspector who visits a "bad" apartment based on their complaint is a reason to issue an order to return the premises to their original or agreed state.

Below we have tried to provide information with which you will most likely be able to determine which walls are load-bearing and which are not in your apartment, and depending on this, carry out repairs in the future without violating the law and building codes.

Bearing walls in a panel house

Panel standard houses of various series are the most common type of housing in Moscow. This type of multi-apartment residential buildings, unfortunately, does not allow many planning decisions to be implemented. The fact is that most of the intra-apartment walls in panel houses are load-bearing, and many circumstances, such as the floor of the apartment, the general construct of this series, or the condition of the house, can interfere with the arrangement of openings in them.

Panel house of the P-3 series, photo:

So, how to understand which walls are load-bearing in a panel house? The easiest way is to measure the thickness of the desired wall.

• For partitions, this parameter is usually from 80 to 100 mm
• The thickness of the bearing walls ranges from 140 to 200 mm
• Interior partitions in 90% of panel houses are gypsum concrete panels 80 mm thick
• Internal bearing walls are reinforced concrete panels with a thickness of 140, 160, 180 and 200 mm. In some old series of panel houses, there are also 120mm load-bearing walls

Accordingly, this means that if the wall thickness is less than 120mm, then this is a non-load-bearing partition, and if more, then this is a load-bearing wall.

It should be noted that the wall thickness must be measured in a "pure form", that is, finishing layers (plaster, wallpaper) should not be taken into account, and for the purity of measurements, the plaster layer must either be removed in several places, or pre-measured and subsequently subtracted from the wall thickness.

In "boundary" cases, it is better to rely on the opinion of the engineers of the design institute, the author of the house of your series, where you or your chosen intermediaries, apply for a technical opinion on redevelopment. In any case, it is the TK that will give the final answer on the redevelopment of load-bearing walls.

Example: technical opinion of GUP MNIITEP - an institute that is the author of 90 percent of panel houses in Moscow.

Bearing walls in brick houses

load-bearing walls in monolithic houses

For monolithic houses, the most accurate way to determine the load-bearing wall is to take an architectural floor plan from the management company. Due to the variety of individual design solutions, without appropriate documentation it is quite difficult to determine whether this or that wall is load-bearing. AT monolithic buildings can be found both load-bearing walls and columns, pylons (columns of rectangular section). Monolithic-frame houses may not have load-bearing walls at all.

Non-bearing brick partitions in a monolithic house:

The thickness of the internal walls and pylons in monolithic houses is usually 200, 250 and 300mm, so if the wall affected by the redevelopment is less than 200mm, then this is an ordinary partition. But in some cases, the partition may be more than 200 mm (if it is made of foam blocks).

Hello. In previous articles, I described the features of hidden electrical wiring in multi-apartment residential buildings, namely, the conversation was about wall chasing. A brief summary of these articles can be summed up: it is not recommended to crush the load-bearing walls of apartment buildings. A simple and logical question arises, how to determine which walls are load-bearing and which are not? This is especially important when buying a new apartment. The destruction of load-bearing walls can be an unpleasant surprise when moving to a new apartment.

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Why determine load-bearing walls in an apartment (office)

The answers to the questions “Why define load-bearing walls” or “Which wall is load-bearing” do not matter at all if you are not planning a major renovation associated with redevelopment and / or laying new hidden electrical wiring. Both redevelopment and electrical installation are associated with affecting the structures of the premises and, according to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, require approvals and obtaining permits if these structures are load-bearing.

Legally, the question is as clear as possible. Violation of the load-bearing structures of a house (building) can compromise its strength and lead to its destruction (partial or complete).

In practice, some construction firms will safely tear down and pound walls, admonishing customers that "we do this all the time." This is not an argument at all, because the responsibility for illegal redevelopment and destruction of structures lies with the owner of the housing.

How to define a load-bearing wall yourself

There are some practical tips on how to determine whether a load-bearing wall or not.

Residential building made of bricks

The thickness of the bearing walls in a brick house starts at 38 cm. All other walls, 12 cm (one brick), 25 cm (two bricks), 8-12 cm (lightweight concrete), are partitions.

Bearing walls in Khrushchev and stalinkas

The design of houses such as "Stalinka" and "Khrushchev" is shown in the photo.

• 3 longitudinal walls they are bearing;
• Between them are load-bearing diaphragms, they keep the load-bearing walls from falling;
• Flights of stairs are held on load-bearing walls.

All other walls are partitions.

How to determine the bearing walls in the house: Khrushchev

On the plan of the apartment it will look like this.

Serial apartment building from panels

We measure the thickness of the wall.

In serial panel houses, the thickness of the bearing walls is 12, 14, 18, 20 cm. The thickness of the partitions in panel houses, that is, the walls erected after the construction (assembly) of the house, fluctuate between 8-10 cm.

Conclusion 1. If the thickness of the wall (without the plaster layer) is less than 10 cm, it is very likely that this is not a load-bearing wall, but a partition.

Important! The design of a panel house is supported by load-bearing walls, and the destruction of the 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 are serial and each house belongs to a certain series. On the Internet, you can find quite complete sites with descriptions and photos of serial panel houses. According to the house series, you can easily find the authors of the project and the project of your house. On the project of the house (apartment), load-bearing walls are clearly visible (they are shaded and / or thicker than the rest). An alternative to the project can be communication with the BTI or with the management company of your house.

Multi-apartment monolithic house

In new buildings, a monolith, it is easy to determine the load-bearing walls. Load-bearing walls are visually visible. Smooth concrete wall, load-bearing, partition lined with blocks.

In inhabited monolithic houses, it is somewhat more difficult. A partition is definitely a wall less than 20 cm thick. However, a wall thicker than 20 cm can be both a partition and a supporting structure. In this case, it will help to determine the load-bearing wall or not, only the architectural section of the working draft. It must be with the management company. The load-bearing walls will be shaded.

What works for load-bearing walls are prohibited

In conclusion, it is somewhat impossible for load-bearing walls:

• It is impossible to completely demolish a load-bearing wall in any buildings () and it is impossible to obtain legal approval for such a demolition.
• move a load-bearing wall;
• make an opening in the load-bearing wall without approval and design;
• It is impossible, (in Moscow) to make any furrows for electrical wiring, as well as plumbing 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 the passage of 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 on your own.