Removing metal diagonal bracing

[mac_man_luke]

Hello all

Im in the process of squaring up 2 plasterboard archways

First went with out a hitch with nothing in the way.

Second i discovered part of a metal diagonal bracing going across the top 100-150mm (right near the corner)

Is it safe to screw the bracing into the frame at both ends then remove the small piece or will the cause significant structural issues?

It is a load bearing wall, wall runs approx 6m long and the arch/doorway is just one side of centre.

any advice welcome

thanks
Luke

[barney118]

Luke do you have a picture? the bracing needs to be identified what it is doing. I.e is it bracing from the roof to the frame. Or is it just wall bracing. Not exactly sure what you are trying to do. Moving it or modifying or removing?

[mac_man_luke]

It is wall bracing, will attach each end to the frame then cut the piece out.

90467

[Bloss]

That'll be fine . . .

[mac_man_luke]

Thought it would be, just wanted to be sure.

[r3nov8or]

Dont go doing it in too many places though, Unless you know the complete bracing design of the house

[mac_man_luke]

only 1 spot

[intertd6]

If you cut that brace you are possibly losing 1.5kn of structural bracing.
regards inter

[r3nov8or]

There is no doubt some level of risk here. It is possible that all walls are built this way, so cutting one is of little consequence, but it may be a carefully planned bracing design that needs this bracing. Maybe somewhere in between...

[Gaza]

dont for get that plasterboard wall sheets add a fair amount of bracing that is not incldued in calculations when designing wall frames.

[intertd6]

Any builder or engineer will & would advise when a structural brace or element is removed or weakened it should be replaced or added back into the structure in some other way, nominal bracing (normally fixed plasterboard / linings) only ever supplement structural bracing.
regards inter

[Bloss]

mmm - well this one wouldn't in this case. :cool: Haven't lost a house yet . . . or part of one . . . must be just dumb luck I guess . . . :rolleyes: But OP can read my signature and make their own decision.

[intertd6]

Looks like I made a mistake there with my previous reply, I should have said "any engineer & most builders"
regards inter

[Pulse]

nominal bracing is allowed to make up 50% of the total bracing, may or may not have been included in house bracing plan.

Cheers
Pulse

90531

[Bloss]

Looks like I made a mistake there with my previous reply, I should have said "any engineer & most builders"
regards inter

So I won't mention my engineering quals . . . :cool: :)

[justonething]

My suggestion is first find out if it is a load bearing wall. If it isn't, then what you do will no doubt be fine. If it is, then you need to find out where other bracings to the wall are before deciding what you want to do.

[r3nov8or]

My suggestion is first find out if it is a load bearing wall. If it isn't, then what you do will no doubt be fine. ...... what, for any number of non-load bearing walls? If not, what number is a good number? 1? 2? 10? How can you ever know? ...

[justonething]

Bracing a wall is to provide rigidity to resist any lateral force applied to it such as in an earthquake or windload etc. In the case of a non load bearing wall, the requirement for bracing is only to the extend that the wall is rigid enough to support itself. In OP's situation, my understanding is that only the top 150mm of the bracing is in question and the remaining bracing is intact for the rest of the wall. For the part of the bracing that is exposed, I think there isn't much of the wall there as it looks like it has been removed. So remove the bracing wouldn't be a big deal either especially if he's going to ensure that the bracing is secured to the remaining wall frame.
For a load bearing wall, that would be a different story.
Just re-read the post again. It is a load bearing wall. so what I said didn't apply. Sorry about that. What need to be known is the kind of load the wall is bearing, e.g. just ceiling joist or something else, and essentially whether the top plate is strong enough to support the full load, if it is in an earthquake zone, that is even more important. An archway distributes the loads exerted on the top plate evenly but the same cannot be said in a square opening. how wide is the opening, may be a strongback is already in the ceiling or there is a bulkhead siting above the top plate.

[r3nov8or]

The AS does not mention load bearing nor non-load bearing walls in the bracing or racking forces sections. Any wall can provide bracing as long as it is appropriately attached to appropriately designed floor and ceiling frames/diaphragms

[Johning]

The AS does not mention load bearing nor non-load bearing walls in the bracing or racking forces sections. Any wall can provide bracing as long as it is appropriately attached to appropriately designed floor and ceiling frames/diaphragms

+1

As a complete layman: I did the structural design of my house, providing the council with wind loading calculations and bracing requirements. I certainly included the bracing provided by internal braced walls (load bearing and non-load bearing). The design was accepted. The house built and is still standing.

[intertd6]

So I won't mention my engineering quals . . . :cool: :)
pop them up then. But I couldn't imagine a MIE CPE guessing the removal of brace & then signing it off structurally, once a brace is cut anywhere it is finished & ineffective
regards inter