Need to replace a loading bearing wall to Open up the Garden floor + add a new staircase to connect the Garden flr to the Parlour

Any ideas of cost to do this?

kellyj

in Brownstoner Renovation 12 years and 8 months ago

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radgirl | 12 years and 8 months ago

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We just bought a brownstone in Crown Heights. And we have a few projects: -open up the Garden floor and replace the load bearing wall with a support beam (on ceiling, down the length of the building) & columns. 
-add a staircase between the Parlour floor and Garden floor.  The current staircase from the Garden floor connects into the main shared hallway of the building, and it needs to connect into the Parlour floor. Most likely we will need a structural Engineer for the above projects…Can someone recommend someone good w/fair prices from their own personal experience?

ekoflooringwoodwork | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Hi  I m sorry i cant provide you with any engineeres but if you have any questions on :staircase, railing, flooring and woodwork, please give me a call. I am new to Brownstoner but I am 10 years in the trade and will provide you with references if needed. Also please write with any questions about flooring and woodworking, staircase questions.  — Tomasz-347-628-3965 or tom@ekony.com

brucef | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Good luck with your project. This same issue is periodically raised here. If this site had a decent search feature, I would recommend using it but … Bearing walls are not what they seem. Logically a wall that is obviously supporting upper floors looks to the neophyte as a “bearing wall”. However, most old houses were constructed with wood joists that spanned the width from masonry to masonry. Technically these are structural, and the wall you saw as “support” is termed a “stiffening” wall. I can recommend a structural engineer Andre Goodrich. (347) 787-3338 What difference does all this jargon make? But be forewarned, your approach may trigger all sorts of un-intended ramifications. DOB no longer allows the replacement of a structural wall. Any support must come from masonry and steel up from footings in the cellar. For instance, a simple framed opening for a new stairwell will require new metal joists from masonry to masonry around opening. Which if your existing floors have some “character” and slope or deflection, will certainly not line up with new absolutely straight beams. Secondly, to support the 2nd floor (while opening up parlor floor), this will require stell columns up from cellar, not from the parlor floor as you envision. I’m not saying that what you want to do is unreasonable, just that who you ask, and your approach could mean easily 50K of budget creep you certainly didn’t want. The takeaway from this short lesson – Structural engineer is not here to help you. He is a timid technical resource utilized by your architect to legalize desired changes.

goh | 12 years and 8 months ago

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Hello, We worked on a brownstone with similar features, opening brick wall to garden and new stair, below is a link to the project. http://www.0-to-1.com/projects.php We consulted with structural engineers Robert Sillman associates.  http://www.rsapc.com/  They are a large firm but also handle small projects.  As Brucef mentioned, the structural engineer works with your architect.   Garner Oh, RA goh@0-to-1.com

agdipierro

in Brownstoner Renovation 12 years and 8 months ago

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I have a few excellent structural engineers that I work with regularly.