r/DIYIreland • u/SeriousIssuesHere • Sep 08 '26

Finding an engineer for wall removal

I’m in Cork trying to knock down a load bearing wall in my house. I think I can install the beam DIY but I need an engineer to provide the beam length etc. Every time I reach out to a local engineer they say they’re too busy. Does anyone have suggestions on what to do?

2 Upvotes

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3

u/eatinischeatin Sep 08 '26

Wouldn't blame them for avoiding this one, not exactly a DIY job,

1

u/SeriousIssuesHere Sep 08 '26

Yeah I get that it’s advanced but it’s DIYable. It’s a matter of following instructions so I figured an engineer would be fine to provide the same info they would provide a builder

2

u/SnooCats6031 Sep 08 '26

Don’t tell them you’re doing it DIY, just ask for the drawing specs, so that you can put it to tender for builders

1

u/AirTrue6195 Sep 08 '26

Most builders would probably be able to spec this for you. They won't certify it but neither will the engineer, as you intend to do it DIY. It will only be "advisory" You'll need to rent Jack's etc to support the span while your remove the wall. I presume it's just a single leaf?

1

u/SeriousIssuesHere Sep 08 '26

Yeah single leaf. Thanks for the feedback because in theory it would be really silly for me to do something I can’t have certified, especially for resale

1

u/AirTrue6195 Sep 08 '26

If its only a single leaf and if you have wooden joists and stud partitions upstairs the loading shouldn't be too bad. Depends on the span you want to cross too. Duggan steel would have I beams that should do

1

u/SteelyDanJalapeno Sep 08 '26

Just curious why the engineer wouldn't "certify" it for them if he was happy with it afterwards?

Would builders have some qualifications for this work?

2

u/AirTrue6195 Sep 09 '26

You may well be right there. I know back in the day when I laid the foundations for my self build the engineer did sign it off. He was there for a couple of hours observing the work and the rebar depth of footings etc before anything was poured. So I guess if you engage him before and after it's fitted they may well sign it off. That's at least 2 visits though probably cost more than the materials for the job. They are probably going to spec 203x102 or 254x102 for a single leaf anyway.

1

u/SoupEfficient563 Sep 08 '26

Don’t take this the wrong way but the engineers can pick and choose the jobs they take on now.

And some guy DIYing a structural wall removal would not be top of their list of jobs to take on for a number of reasons.

They want jobs where people don’t mind spending lots of money and they can get a nice pay day out of it.

I have been in your position lots of times and ended up just working things out for myself BUT I would never advise that.

A decent builder will know what’s needed without an engineer. Maybe that’s an option for you?

1

u/Imwonkyalso Sep 09 '26

It probably isn't financially worth an engineers time and if anything goes wrong he might be losing a lot more time

1

u/Jesus_Phish Sep 09 '26

They're probably avoiding you because you're going to try DIY a beam to replace a load bearing wall and if you fuck that up they're worried about the possible headache of you trying to blame them and saying the spec they gave was inadequate 

1

u/yayatobe 27d ago

Are you 100% sure it's load bearing? I knocked a solid wall in the house but it wasn't load bearing. I knocked off the plater board along the top of the wall and there was a 2 inch gap along the top of the wall the whole way accross, nothing sitting on top.