widening a doorway

[lienkart]

i am wanting to widen my doorway into my kitchen to make it more a kitchen diner, i have had 2 builders round, one telling me it needs a support beam and the other one saying it does not, how do i get the right advice when several builders are giving me different info. i don,t want to have it done in case several months or years down the line the wall caves in, there is another wall above upstairs running the same way, does this tell me anything? please help

[terence7556]

some things we do in our homes need planning permission and some small things we do only need to inform building regs at the planning dept, so phone them and have a chat about whats needed and they will guide you
if or when you sell the other sides legal team will ask you if you carried out alterations and if so do you have completion certificates from building regs that prove any work carried out was inspected and passed off, even for a relatively small job.likewise when you buy you want the assurance of the work being inspected by an independant person and confirmed in writing

[marabout]

stay safe...rsj it!

[buildersmate]

The work will not need Planning Permission because it isn't changing the external appearance of the dwelling. It will need Building Regs approval if the wall is a structural component, which is what you are asking. It is impossible to give you clear recommendations from a distance. Having a wall directly above it tells you little - this wall may be made of wood, covered with plasterboard (stud partition). What is more important is the direction in which the joists run, and whether they rely on sitting on top of the downstairs wall to partially support them (they generally run from wall to wall across the shortest dimension of the house, are always supported at their ends but may use intermediate support as well). Sorry I can't be more specific.