RSJ installation long after wall removal - possible?

InPsyDer · 31-07-2021 9:00am #1

Hi there,

Would be so grateful for any advice here as my head is wrecked! I'm sale agreed on a house I love but the seller has not been able to advise if there are RSJs in place where 2 load bearing walls have been removed. She says she bought the house like that and has no knowledge of prior alteration details. She had a guy go in this week to "certify" the structure but his report amounts to him saying he cannot comment on what he can't see, ie beams that may or may not be in the roof.

My questions are, if I decide to go ahead with the sale regardless (market being what it is I'm getting desperate!):

- can I get a builder / engineer to put in the RSJs now, if investigative works reveal they are indeed missing?

- how much is it likely to cost? (I know this can vary greatly due to size and type of beam required, but am I looking at a few thousand or several thousand? I don't know if it becomes much more complicated putting them in after the fact?)

Thanks so much for any info, I can't find anything online about this scenario so have no idea what to do.

horse7 · 31-07-2021 7:05pm

Take up the floorboards and see if there is an RSJ underneath, a builder could put in an RSJ, you would probably see some cracked walls if the building doesn't have enough support.

the_pen_turner · 31-07-2021 7:08pm

why do you think there is support missing

InPsyDer · 31-07-2021 11:12pm

It was the main thing my surveyor highlighted, that there was no way to tell if they had been put in and that certification should be sought.

If they can be put in retrospectively that's great, I know zero about building so didn't know if that could be done. Is taking up the upstairs floorboards the easier way to check? Rather than going in via the ceiling downstairs?

Thanks so much for replies!