Advice about demolition of internal wall. Help Needed Urgently!

[bondirenovator]

So i am planning to demolish the wall that seperates our kitchen and living room to create an open plan feel. I have already had a structural engineer come through and the report says i need a 3.5m ibeam with a 110mm nib at one end and a 200mm nib at the other end. We then will create a suspended ceiling just in kitchen (3.5x2.2) where the ibeam comes down to allow for down lights in the kitchen. We have had 2 quotes both of which came to $12,500 which to us seems ridiculous. The wall itself is only 3.5m long and it seems like an exorbitant amount of money.

Can anyone here tell me if this price is correct or am i getting the Mickey taken out of me.

Also, can they recommend a builder/renovator that would be willing to do this in the bondi area.

thanks so much!

[Hoppy]

I am based in South Australia so its a bit difficult to advise on price. Something you need to consider is what is the I beam doing? Obviously it is going to support roof beams like strutting beams, hanging beams, underpurlins and the like. On removal of the wall the floor unless it on a concrete slab will also need repairing. I would suggest you ask the builders whom have quoted to give you a detailed explanation of what they are doing. That way you can make an informed decission.
Good luck

[bondirenovator]

To give you a bit more detail we will shortly after redoing our kitchen so the kitchen will be removed and the tiling in the kitchen will also be removed. That way during demolition that can damage the tiles as much as they like because we will then be removing them all and putting floating timber on our concrete slab.

We live on ground floor of 3 storey unit- solid concrete slab above us. The ibeam is designed to take some of the load (considered semi structural).

we hoped it would be around the 5k mark or so but maybe we were just dreaming.

more advice would be greatly appreciated!

[barney118]

Draw yourself a picture of whats above etc as this I-Beam (steel of course of some size unknown) will be taking load from ?? The roof is generally supported by outside walls (roof trusses), however some convential roofs are supported also by internal walls by means of strutts.
If you have a concrete slab above then I would assume this i beam will be taking some of the floor load of the concrete, given an i beam is fairly straight, I dont know how accurately the fit would be against the concrete.
I would of thought once the slab has cured then the wall would simply be there to divide a room.

[Bedford]

We live on ground floor of 3 storey unit- solid concrete slab above us.


You may need to consult with the Owners Corporation or Body Corporate before you get too far into this, they may not allow it.

[bondirenovator]

Several other units in the building have previosuly done this so shouldn't be a problem. We have already called an EGM which is due in 10 days time so will not 100% then.

looking more for info on the quote and recommendations,

thanks

[Bloss]

For what you describe in a 3 story building that price seem OK to me. If in doubt get some more quotes. Better still since you say others in the unit block have had it done find one of the builders who have already done one and with whom other tenants were happy.

[ibuildbenches]

:whs:

[Moondog55]

That is a very expensive hole, how badly do you want it and will it make your unit worth $30k more??

[bondirenovator]

so those quotes in the end were complete rip offs.

i have had several more quotes from reputable builders which were much more reasonable. Came to roughly 5k including suspended ceiling.

guess this teaches you to always keep looking!

[Annie_s]

if there's one thing I've learnt from property development, and dealing with tradies, get AT LEAST three quotes, and even then, if your gut feeling still tells you it's not right, get more. Tradies always quote "their" way, and there is no same way of quoting. I often have quotes doubled with the next guy, and there is no obvious reason to me why it is this way. It just is. (annoying!!)

[john603]

so those quotes in the end were complete rip offs.

i have had several more quotes from reputable builders which were much more reasonable. Came to roughly 5k including suspended ceiling.

guess this teaches you to always keep looking!

I am doing exactly the same thing as you are planning to do. However, our unit is a complete seperate building from others on the ground floor. The quote is $620 with a double sized cavity unit installation as well. The wall is load bearing. If I were you, I would open a window in the wall instead of removing it all. That way it will have more studs to support the weight and less work for the builders. Good Luck!