O/T Building regs for removing internal wall

I had 2 rooms knocked into 1 and an RSJ installed on a non load bearing wall. Council Building control are saying they needed to sight the work being done to issue a building regs certificate. They want me to hack off plaster so that they can sight tge RSJ size/dimensions etc.

They're saying that i won't be able to sell my house in future without it. My question is is this correct and how much of an issue will it be for me?

On a previous house i did a similar knock through, told no one in the council and that sold fine just recently.

Anyobe had any similar experiences?

Im no expert but a basic survey of the house might be enough for a person buying your house to get a mortgage but if a full structural survey is required by the bank then yes you would need it signing off or risk holding up the selling process for investigation to be done.

Whilst it might seem OTT from building control, you might have simply put a 4x2 piece of timber up to take the load (even if its just a few hundred millimetres it is still a load).

Hack off and get signed off if i were you, save future hassle.

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Originally Posted by MacAdder

Im no expert but a basic survey of the house might be enough for a person buying your house to get a mortgage but if a full structural survey is required by the bank then yes you would need it signing off or risk holding up the selling process for investigation to be done.

Whilst it might seem OTT from building control, you might have simply put a 4x2 piece of timber up to take the load (even if its just a few hundred millimetres it is still a load).

Hack off and get signed off if i were you, save future hassle.

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I would tend to agree with final comment. If it’s just hacking enough off a enough to expose the beam is going to cost £100 to redo at most.. it’s going to cost you more that in time in future.

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Originally Posted by 1/2man1/2horse

I had 2 rooms knocked into 1 and an RSJ installed on a non load bearing wall. Council Building control are saying they needed to sight the work being done to issue a building regs certificate. They want me to hack off plaster so that they can sight tge RSJ size/dimensions etc.

They're saying that i won't be able to sell my house in future without it. My question is is this correct and how much of an issue will it be for me?

On a previous house i did a similar knock through, told no one in the council and that sold fine just recently.

Anyobe had any similar experiences?

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If you remove an internal wall during renovations you need Building Regulation consent. If it was non load bearing they may just have given you consent to remove without putting an RSJ in. Out of interest, why did you put an RSJ in if it was non load bearing ?. The problem you will have is not necessarily to do with any buyer having a survey (although it could be picked up on this) but one of the standard legal questions on a sale is ' have any internal alterations, including removal of walls, been carried out under your occupation. If you answer this truthfully (it is an offence to deliberately lie or mislead) the buyers solicitor will then do a search to see if consents were correctly obtained and when it comes back that they were not the they would most likely advise their client to not buy the property due to the structural risks involved. Therefore you should always get any necessary consent before carrying out this type of work. Hope this is of some help.

If the wall is not load bearing an RSJ is not required and therefore I would question why Building Control approval is necessary.

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Originally Posted by Vindec

If the wall is not load bearing an RSJ is not required and therefore I would question why Building Control approval is necessary.

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Infact putting unnecessary loading onto the walls.

Question has to be why the need for the RSJ

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Originally Posted by 1/2man1/2horse

I had 2 rooms knocked into 1 and an RSJ installed on a non load bearing wall. Council Building control are saying they needed to sight the work being done to issue a building regs certificate. They want me to hack off plaster so that they can sight tge RSJ size/dimensions etc.

They're saying that i won't be able to sell my house in future without it. My question is is this correct and how much of an issue will it be for me?

On a previous house i did a similar knock through, told no one in the council and that sold fine just recently.

Anyobe had any similar experiences?

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You need to get it signed off, and the steel should be on concrete pad stones, if it isn't, just expose the steel, nothing below it! Why did you put a Steel in if there isn't anything to support? or, are your floor joists resting on it? I know that some people like the profile of a Steel, and it saves a shitload of work making the ceiling good and the walls either side that the wall was tied in to. I'd play ball and expose the beam, in my experience, the building inspectors are ok.

you could of course not get the work signed off and when it comes to selling and a survey picks it up ( chances are it will not ) just buy a indemnity insurance policy

though as above, i do question the need for a RSJ on a non-load bearing wall, seems rather pointless, i wonder if it was load bearing and just made out of studwork ( which wasnt unheard of in old houses, Penarth has a whole street that the floor joists are resting on a stud wall, much to my amazement, though the top plate is actually 4X2" on edge X 2 )

Strange to put an RSJ in if it’s not load bearing. If it was load bearing, the main thing is to have the correct beam installed according to calculations made by a structural engineer, these calculations should be kept with the house deeds to ward off any ‘price reduction haggling’ when it comes to selling. Would still be interested to know why a beam was used in a non load bearing wall.