House purchase Single-family house built in 78 - Floor plan change impact on structural stability

  • Erstellt am 2018-02-04 11:21:37

Robert777

2018-02-04 11:21:37
  • #1
Good day,

We intend to purchase a single-family house (2 full floors plus converted attic, built in the GDR) on the outskirts of a larger city. That means the location is relatively sought after and the asking prices are high. Especially in existing properties, it is not easy for a layperson to distinguish the wheat from the chaff.

Yesterday we viewed the property for the third time. Twice we had a civil engineer with us. On the upper floor there is a 26 m2 room from which I would like to make two. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that a beam rests on the lintel of the window. Is something like this still permissible? I ask because I want to partially open a load-bearing wall and an engineer will have to check/calculate anyway. I wonder what he thinks of the shown construction and whether major changes would be necessary because of it.

Thank you very much! Robert
 
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