Would I be able to knock down an outside wall which is a single story extension. I want to put french doors in

Question

We would like to do this ourselves if possible to save precious money on builders. Would be able to fit a lintel if needed and not too compliated?! Any tips and help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You need to apply for planning permission from your local council

Answer 2

I think we need a bit more detail in order to give a good answer. For example where is the lintel going if you knock the extension down? Are you knocking down the extension and putting the French Doors in the external wall of the house? or do you intend to create an opening in the single storey extension for the doors?

Yes you can do parts or all of it yourself depending on your ability and inclination, post a bit more info though.

Answer 3

i can undderstand why you want to save some cash by not using a builder but you might end up making a bigger repair bill for yourself if you do not see about getting an engineer in or an architect or a very experienced contractor. You need to make sure that it is not a load bearing wall and make sure that you don't affect the integrity of the stucture.

Answer 4

You need to have a reasonable degree of expreince to do this, eg previously hung a door or two wouldn't be enough experience.

You'll need to work to building regualtions which means you'll need drawings from an archtect that show the size of lintel to use.

A small job like this can be done under building regs notice, rather than full planning permission - ask at the planning dept in the council. The fee is normally about £108 to inspect the plans and inspect the job.

Depending on the wall structure you may need single, double or seperate lintels. It depends how the wall plate is done and how the roof hangs off it.

Provided you can lay bricks, make good cavity and internal walls and know about supporting the roof while you're doing the work, you should be ok.

but generally, yes is the answer. If you have done some buidling work before then putting in French doors, adhereing to buidling regs, is simple enough.

If you are using seled units ( double glazed uPVC ) check the FENSA requiremetns with the planning dept. It might be you can't do it all without a FENSA certificate in some areas.

The big advatage in using a builder is that if things start to sag a little they know exactly what to do, most DIYers start to panic if the roof drops a bit. and if you call in a builder as an emergency and they see you've been trying to bodge it...well you might need to sit down for that quote.

Do you have acros, extension supports, disc cutter etc ?.......all costs money to hire.

A decent builder would charge 2 days - £250. It would be easy to rack up £250 in hiring and making good.

Answer 5

You take out a small amount first, floor to the height you want. Then fit a prop they are available to hire quite cheaply from Travis Perkins and they deliver. Move on to another amount the same as before until you have the width of the lintel less about 6 inches. Prop all the way along. Take out at the sides the space for the lintel supporting section which should allow the lintel to rest on at least 6 inches of wall at either end. Fit the lintel by feeding it in and take away a prop at a time. A few spare props to take the weight of the lintel while it is sticking out from the wall could be useful.Take your time and make sure you have strong help.
You might need planning permission. Best of luck.

Answer 6

Hi I'm Jeff have been in the build game for too many years. Assuming the roof to be either pitched or flat you will be able to remove wall up to wall plate and then timber from under the plate to the top of the frame, no probs. From Jeff Daykin [e-mail].

Answer 7

You need to hold up whatever the wall is holding up at the moment. Have a look at the roof..is the wall holding it up? if so you will need to prop-up the roof before removing the wall. But If you need to ask such questions here I cannot see you having the necessary skills to do the job. Call in a builder.

Answer 8

my, you are ambitious! it can be a real pandora's box...hire a contractor and save yourself precious money and headache, believe me you will save money really.