Taking down a load-bearing wall to create a new doorway is a typical job that we carry out regularly, as was the case for this client in Cergy-Pontoise. The work must be done in strict compliance with the recommendations of a prior engineering study. Working on a load-bearing wall cannot be improvised, because of the significant risks to the building's structure.
The involvement of a structural engineering office (BET): an essential first step
A load-bearing wall carries various loads of a building. It may take the weight of an upper floor, or part of the roof. Its thickness, length and position are all critical. Drilling through it or demolishing it, even partially, cannot be done haphazardly. A technical study by a specialist BET is essential.
So, for his project to open a doorway in the load-bearing wall of his home, our client in Cergy-Pontoise first received a visit from an engineer. The engineer carried out various test openings and surveys, which allowed him to assess the feasibility of the work and write up a method statement that we followed to the letter. The work could be carried out safely, both for the workers and for the building.
How the doorway work in the load-bearing wall went
Before starting the demolition, we protected the premises so that we could hand them back to the client in perfect condition at the end of the job. We also built a shoring structure to take the loads of the upper floor while work was being done on the load-bearing wall.
Demolition of the load-bearing wall could then begin. We poured a reinforced concrete footing and padstone to support the various components of the steel reinforcement structure. We put the lintel in place, then fixed the columns at the top and bottom using the welded and bolted base plate systems specified by the technical study. We welded stiffeners into the HEB 120 beams for effective load transfer.
As on all our sites, we protected the steel structure with a coat of anti-rust paint. Then we removed the protective coverings and cleaned up meticulously.
