How to properly make a doorway in a load-bearing wall: recommendations from experts. Instructions for making an opening in a load-bearing brick wall How to make a passage to a load-bearing wall

Sometimes, for redevelopment in an apartment or private house, it is necessary to make a new door or window opening. Creating an opening in the load-bearing wall of an apartment building brick house- not an easy task. Things are easier with redevelopment in a private house, here everyone is their own boss.

What is a doorway? This is a hole in the wall intended for installing entrance units. A fixed fixed element in the inter-wall space is called door frame. Often an arch is made as a decorative element of the interior.

Construction of a doorway in a load-bearing brick wall

Before starting work, you must contact a specialist who will make a demonstration project with all the calculations based on the client’s wishes. To implement the project, significant costs are required, which start from an amount of 30 thousand rubles. So if you get down to business, you need to foresee a lot. Independent work by installing a doorway will help the owner save money - it will cost approximately 15 thousand rubles.

Construction of a new opening

• it must comply with building codes;
• It is advisable to place the hole in the central part of the supporting structure;
• it is necessary that the top part coincides with the cement seam of the masonry;
• the space between walls up to 0.9 m wide does not require reinforcement operations.

When creating an inter-wall space in a supporting wall, you need to properly create reinforcement. Equally important when changing the design of walls is the safety of life of other residents. apartment building and preservation of the structure of the building itself.

Work order

First of all, you need to decide where to organize additional space for entry and exit. It all starts with markup. You need to decide on the width of the hole, and then begin to determine its future location with a pencil. From external wall you need to measure the distance and make a mark - from here we begin to draw the outline of the future interior space.

A thick wall structure is being cut on both sides, so markings will be necessary on the reverse side as well.

To ensure their exact match, it is necessary to drill several holes according to the pencil markings (Fig. 1). And then on the other side connect all the holes with a pencil line.

The above-described manipulations should be carried out when using building level, triangle and ruler.

Since we will create the space in the load-bearing wall of a brick house, it is necessary to take care of auxiliary partitions and lintels in advance (Fig. 2).

Removing a section of wall

Before starting work, it is necessary to free the supporting wall structure from the layer of plaster along the drawn line so that the seams of the masonry are visible. However, it is necessary to remove the plaster with extreme caution, because most likely there is wiring underneath it - damage can lead to the failure of the entire power supply system.

When the seams at the site of the future empty space are visible, you can begin to work. You need to start removing bricks from the very top. First, the top row of bricks is removed, which will be the width of the entire door space. A jumper is inserted here on which the structure will be supported.

Next, more holes are made above the jumper. It is necessary to install a beam into the resulting hole, which will act as a support. The support beam must be supported with a jack so that the structure does not collapse during operation. The beam and jack will support the weight of the entire wall structure (Fig. 3).

Then all holes are lubricated with concrete solution. After drying concrete mixture, you can continue working on knocking out bricks.

The structure should be strengthened at width door space more than one meter.

To protect the floor from falling bricks, it is necessary to make a flooring from boards. Bricks should be removed diamond drills to minimize damage to the wall structure as much as possible.

Violation of the technology for removing bricks can lead to weakening of the structure, its premature wear and deformation.

It should be noted that the space under the door must be 10-20 centimeters larger than the door or window box. This gap can be filled polyurethane foam.

Strengthening the opening

Strengthening work is being taken away maximum amount time, as they are carried out painstakingly. Organized empty space under a door or arch must be reinforced with channels. It is advisable to use a channel jumper with vertical posts. Channels are mounted on both sides, which are screwed into the wooden lintel previously installed (Figure 4).

If the space in the wall structure is large, then it is reinforced not only in the upper part, but also on the sides (Fig. 5).

How to determine a load-bearing wall in a brick house?

The most basic way to determine the supporting wall is to familiarize yourself with the floor plan of the living space. Such a plan must be included in the registration certificate or house register. To understand diagrams and drawings, you need to have some drawing skills. Experience in construction would be helpful. Then you can easily distinguish a supporting wall from a regular partition.

Usually interior walls have a thickness of no more than 18 centimeters. The smallest thickness of the supporting wall is 38 centimeters - a masonry of three bricks. Four-brick masonry is possible, which forms a wall 51 centimeters thick. Often the wall thickness is brick houses is 64 centimeters - five-brick masonry (Fig. 6).

If the plan cannot be found, then you should use general rules definitions of load-bearing walls in a house:

• if the walls face the street, we can definitely say that they are supporting;
• walls shared with neighbors;
• wall thickness more than 380 mm, as mentioned earlier;
• walls facing the landing.

Exterior finishing

After completing the work on forming the opening in the brick load-bearing wall, everything must be decorated decoratively (Fig. 7). What is needed for this? First of all, you need to make a choice finishing material. Will it be wood, plastic or decorative rock- you decide. Next, you need to show a little imagination and create decorative elements in the formed space of the brick wall.

For self-cladding you should have basic knowledge in the field finishing works, and it is also necessary to have special tool.

If you need to decorate the space for a door without having one, then you should use additional boards. This will add elegance to your new room decor and add sophistication to the interior. You can create such a cladding yourself.

The opening made in the form of an arch looks beautiful. As a rule, arches come in round or pointed shapes. To decide on the shape of the arch for the client, check out the design catalogs. The most common today is Byzantine and Greek style. In some cases, the arch can be made with lighting.

Setting up a doorway in a load-bearing wall is not an easy task if you decide to do the work from scratch. It is not always possible to break through a new passage, because this may damage the structure of the house as a whole. Let's look at what needs to be taken into account in this case and how to cope with this task in certain conditions.

A doorway in a load-bearing wall requires mandatory reinforcement

Important aspects

Quite a lot of people are concerned about the question: is it possible to make brick or panel house doorway. In general, such a decision is permitted provided that necessary conditions, but any redevelopment of such a plan is undesirable. Load-bearing walls are subject to enormous loads, and therefore a violation of the technology for performing the work can lead to the destruction of the ceilings and the house as a whole.

The relocation of the doorway must be coordinated with a special service. It may take several months to complete this process, so such options should be thought through in advance.

To avoid mistakes, the following important aspects must be taken into account:

• the material used in the construction of the house;
• home layout;
• the ratio of the dimensions of the opening and the load-bearing wall itself;
• the condition of the house and, in particular, the floors;
• the load that is placed on the wall from above;
• thickness and condition of the wall.

The thickness and condition of the wall is one of important aspects when organizing an opening in a load-bearing wall

Opening design

If you are planning to move a doorway into a load-bearing wall structure, first of all, you need to decide on the project. This will directly affect the order of work and its complexity.

The following options are possible:

• A simple doorway in the plane of a load-bearing wall. This is an opening standard sizes, which is executed from scratch in a new location. In this case, the existing passage may be closed or remain untouched, which will also affect the distribution of the load.
• Arched doorway. A more complex option, since in this case you need to take into account the shape of the bends. For brick walls, only a professional can perform such work, since it requires a relationship with the location of the masonry joints.
• Minor passage relocation. This is the simplest and completely safe option. In this case, the lintel is moved to the side, part of the existing passage is sewn up or bricked, and a wall fragment of the required size is cut out from the side.

Varieties doorways in a load-bearing wall

Tools and materials used

To punch an opening in a load-bearing wall, a special tool is required. Not recommended for use impact hammer, since rough interference and vibration can lead to cracks and chips.

For cutting walls the following are used:

• Rope cutting. Special installation, which is based on rope cutting elements with artificial diamonds on the bushings.
• Diamond drilling. For work, use durable diamond-coated drills with a cone-shaped or square cross-section.
• Diamond cutting with saw. In this case, it is recommended to use a diamond-coated wet cutting disc and a water tank. This will cool the instrument and prevent excessive dust formation.

Tools used for cutting walls

Relocating a doorway is a painstaking process. Be prepared for a lot of dust and construction debris to form in the room. It is recommended to completely remove furniture and appliances during the renovation.

Panel house

A pressing question for apartment owners is how to make an opening in the load-bearing wall of a standard panel house? In this case, it is assumed that a part is cut out concrete slab, which holds upper tiers. In order to redirect the load from this area, steel jumpers should be used.

First you need to mark the wall according to the developed project. Then holes are drilled along these marks, indicating the base points. The main ones are the upper corner ones; focusing on them, you can remove part of the concrete and lay a lintel. If you are doing it in two parts, first you should install each half in the opening, extending a certain distance beyond its boundaries. Then drill holes for the screed with bolts, tighten them as tightly as possible and concrete.

You cannot continue working until the solution dries, as this may compromise the integrity of the structure.

After the concrete has hardened, you can proceed directly to cutting out the opening itself. Diamond cutters are used for these purposes. You need to work in stages:

1. To begin, cut the general outline to a shallow depth on both sides, focusing on the drilled marks.
2. Then divide all internal area into small sections.
3. Saw the wall into these pieces and knock them out of the opening one by one.

The lintel is the main element in creating a doorway in a panel house

If you decide to create arched vault, to strengthen the opening you need to use a bent channel. Additionally, strapping is installed on the sides. In this case, all elements of the supports must follow the contours of the future opening.

Brick house

In order to equip an opening in the load-bearing wall of an apartment brick building, it is necessary to slightly change the work methodology. The first stage remains largely unchanged. It is necessary to outline the approximate location of the opening and its shape. Then remove upper layer plaster to free the brickwork. So, you will be able to see all the seams and details of the wall, which will allow you to easily adjust the project to specific conditions.

All contours and details need to be corrected taking into account the location brick seam. In order for the jumper to fully perform its functions, it is necessary to place it directly in the space between the joints. To transfer the contours, a drill is also used and a through hole is made.

So how to make an opening in the carrier brick wall It is somewhat more difficult to take care in advance of the presence of auxiliary supports and jumpers. Until you secure the channels, you need to provide support for the top masonry. The opening must be cut carefully; it is best to use diamond drills to minimize damage.

An important step in creating an opening in a load-bearing brick wall is securing the channel

In order to strengthen the opening for a brick house, it is recommended to additionally use metal structure from corner profiles and plates, installed directly along the perimeter of the passage made. All parts are fastened together with bolts and also by welding. After this, you can begin finishing and installing the box.

Before you begin redevelopment of such a scale, be sure to consult with specialists and obtain the appropriate permission. You might miss out important details, which will subsequently affect the stability of the house as a whole. You shouldn't risk your safety for bold design ideas.

In some cases, when remodeling rooms, you have to face the need to install additional windows and doors. In this regard, you will need to make an opening in the wall.

To add another window or door to your home, you will have to make an opening in the brick wall.

Although this procedure is quite complex and not very safe, it can be done with your own hands.

Preparatory work

Before drilling a hole in a brick wall, you need to make sure that there is no electrical wires, fittings or pipes. A metal detector is used for this. If there is electrical wiring in the wall, it must be carefully placed in another place. If there is a chimney, then the distance to the opening should exceed 3 m.

You should immediately decide in which wall the opening will be made. There are two main types:

• bearing wall;
• a wall that bears no load.

A wall that is not load-bearing can only be identified when it is divided by a partition. Or if it is indicated in the building design.

In other cases, such a wall is considered load-bearing.

As for the load-bearing wall, there is a nuance here too. Many people are mistaken when they claim that if there is another wall above the wall, then it is load-bearing. After all, load distribution can occur through beams or lintels that rest on a load-bearing wall.

When creating an opening for a door Special attention allocated to the hole size. It should not exceed 2 m in width and 2.1 m in height. A hole is made in the middle part of the wall. This ensures uniform load distribution.

For dismantling works will be required following materials and tools:

• wooden beam;
• baked brick;
• concrete solution;
• boards;
• corner;
• perforator;
• Bulgarian;
• chisel;
• hammer;
• capacity;
• trowel;
• jumper;
• bolts;
• protective glasses.

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Punching an opening in a load-bearing wall

This process involves strengthening the floors using supporting elements, which are called shoes. The timber is mounted on thick boards. It turns out load-bearing beams, which rest against the shoes.

When creating a wide opening, load-bearing beams should be laid on both sides of the opening along the walls. This is done before installation supporting structures. This is the only way to achieve normal movement of the jumpers. The ideal basis for strengthening the ceiling is concrete surface. Load-bearing elements ceilings that rest on the wall are supported for a while.

Punching an opening in brickwork is carried out in the following sequence. First, a groove is cut into the wall. A jumper is placed in it, which is covered concrete mortar. The next fence is installed after the solution has set.

If there is fragile masonry, then vertical strips should be punched. Moreover, this procedure is carried out on both sides. The old masonry is connected to new slopes, which are created using baked bricks.

Before installing the slopes, bricks and old wall You need to moisten it a little with water. To attach new bricks to old masonry, the tenon ligation method is used, up to 5 rows of bricks high. The length of the masonry is 0.3-0.45 m.

After installing the lintels and making an opening in the wall, all loose bricks are strengthened cement mortar.

All edge elements of the structure are aligned. They should be at right angles to the wall surface. The edges are flush with the applied plaster.

If a doorway is created, then plugs must be installed before leveling the slopes. Punching of strong masonry is carried out without the procedure of strengthening the old masonry. Only the holes intended for the supporting structure are punched.

Reinforcement of a doorway in a load-bearing wall is carried out using corners. They are fastened in two places: inside and outside the opening. To do this, a horizontal opening is created in which the corners are placed and tightened with bolts.

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Dismantling walls that do not bear loads

This process begins at the top of the wall with a gradual transition to dismantling the bricks located near the floor.

This technology reduces the likelihood of wall collapse. If punching a hole needs to be done near the ceiling, then marking work must be carried out.

Removing the top row of the wall is done using a hammer and chisel. The chisel must be positioned strictly perpendicular to the bricks being knocked out. When removing the next rows, it is necessary to take into account that some bricks may lie without rigid adhesion to each other. This is how a hole is made for the window.

When arranging a doorway, it is necessary to provide for the presence of jumpers, with the help of which the load is distributed on both sides of the wall. When marking the hole, you should take into account the gap of 30 mm, which is located between the wall and the door frame.

Marks are made on the wall where the lintel will be located. Extreme points of this fence are located at a distance of 20-25 cm from the doorway. A hole is made for the jumper. If the wall is too wide, then it is better to lay and concrete two lintels. The hole between the lintel and the wall is also filled with concrete. If there is a risk of bricks collapsing, the wall must be completely dismantled and new masonry made over the lintel.

Cutting a new window in a house or creating an arched opening in an apartment in a new location is not so easy, since we're talking about about a violation of the building structure, the consequences of which could be fatal. But this statement should not be taken as the impossibility of creating an arch and an opening in load-bearing walls, since modern technologies allow us to minimize such risks as much as possible. To do this, you only need to follow these technologies and nothing more. In this article, together with the website, we will talk about how to correctly cut an opening in a load-bearing wall, and for convenience, we will divide the entire process into stages.

How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall with your own hands photo

Opening in a load-bearing wall: preliminary strengthening of the future opening

Work to change the structure of load-bearing walls should only be carried out with the permission of the relevant authorities. All work must be carried out according to a previously developed project!

These nuances cannot be ignored, since each house has its own characteristics, and only the principle is common to such work. For each building, its own calculations are made, which are designed to preserve the house as an integral structure to a greater extent.

I think that you have understood the seriousness of such operations, and now you can move on to studying the technology itself for strengthening the opening in load-bearing walls. First, you will have to do dusty work, so you should get large, powerful glasses and a respirator. Using these tools, you will have to cut grooves around the entire perimeter of the future opening. The grooves are not cut through - their purpose is to embed the materials used to strengthen the opening into the wall. As a rule, this is a channel - its size is calculated based on the characteristics of the house (the number of floors of the building, features, weight of the roof, dimensions of the future opening and everything else that may affect changes in the design of the house are taken into account).

How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall with your own hands photo

In general, the depth and width of these grooves must fully correspond to the channel used to strengthen the openings in the load-bearing walls. As for their length, it fully depends on the dimensions of the required opening. The grooves are made on both sides of the load-bearing wall, and this is done so that they coincide in location with each other. In order not to make a mistake at this point, you need to drill through holes in the corners of the future opening with a hammer drill and, according to them, make markings on the other side of the wall. There is nothing complicated here, the main thing is to cope with the markings.

How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall: reinforcement with a channel

First, I will briefly outline the essence of the work so that it is clear general principle. Channels are placed in the cut out on both sides, which are pulled together with long pins. The side and top channels are connected to each other by means of.

Now let's talk in more detail and step by step about this process.

1. We cut the channel according required size. We immediately prepare pairs - two left, two right, two upper and two lower (if necessary).
2. We twist the pairs with clamps and drill through holes in them, passing through both channels at once. The pitch of these holes is calculated, but on average it is 300-400mm. In this way we prepare all pairs of channels.
3. We drill holes for studs in the wall. We install the channel in the groove and drill holes directly through the holes in it.
4. First, install the first pair - left or right, as is convenient for you. It is better to leave the upper pair of channels for later, and it is better to carry out this work together. When the channels are installed, we thread the studs into the holes, put on a washer and an engraver on each side and screw on the nut. We tighten the nuts tightly with all our strength using wrenches - it is better to use a lever (a piece of pipe put on a wrench).
5. Using the method described above, we install the second pair of vertical channels, followed by the horizontal ones.
6. We connect the channels into a frame by welding in all accessible places– We scald the channel on one and the other side of the wall.

Now the device for uniform distribution of the load is, one might say, ready; later it will only have to be completed a little. But that’s for later, but for now let’s continue constructing the opening in the load-bearing wall - inner part The channel frames can be released.

Strengthening openings in load-bearing walls photo

How to make an opening in a load-bearing wall: technology depends on the material

I won’t say much here, since there are differences between walls. The easiest part of the dismantling process is a brick wall - remove one row, and all other rows will go without problems. The most difficult thing to dismantle is concrete with all its reinforcement - here you will have to work hard. It will be necessary to alternately use both the grinder and the hammer drill.

In general, the technology for dismantling parts concrete wall completely depends on its thickness, but in general, cutting the concrete into cubes is considered the most optimal approach to this matter. We immerse the grinder disk into the wall to its full depth and first make vertical slits in increments of 50-80mm, and then horizontal ones. The resulting cubes are easily knocked out with a punch. The next layer of the wall is removed in the same way. At standard thickness of a load-bearing concrete wall, such notches are made on both sides - the internal residue is removed in one cut. This applies to internal load-bearing walls in panel houses, but if we talk about external load-bearing walls, then here you will have to make cuts more than once on each side. In general, this process is tedious, dusty and not very pleasant - in my opinion, it is better to delegate it to professional dismantlers.

Strengthening openings in load-bearing walls photo

The final stage: final strengthening of the opening

After cutting the opening in the load-bearing walls is completed, there will be very little left. In fact, you only need to complete the started strengthening of the metal structure. At this stage of work you need to do the following.

In conclusion, I would like to once again draw your attention to the fact that an opening in a load-bearing wall, especially if we are talking about apartment buildings, should be cut only according to a project approved by special government authorities. Unauthorized changes to the design of the house can lead to irreversible consequences– after all, the lives of many people depend on the correctness of such work!

During the renovation or reconstruction of a house, sometimes it is necessary to redesign the premises. Often an obstacle to this is a load-bearing wall that cannot be demolished. But the problem can be solved by installing an opening in such a wall for a window or door. How to do this correctly so as not to weaken the building structure?

Before you start making an opening, you need to install a lintel that will take the load - from the part of the wall above the future opening, from the ceiling resting on the wall, from the wall top floor or from the roof structure.

Jumper is serious and not easy

The safety of not only the wall structure, but also the entire house will depend on how the lintel is made. When designing a lintel, a number of factors should be taken into account, namely:

• the size of the opening in relation to the wall area;
• distance from the opening to adjacent walls;
• distance from the upper border of the opening to the ceiling;
• opening width;
• type of material from which the wall is made;
• thickness and technical condition walls,
• number of floors above the opening
• type and location of floor slabs.

You must also decide whether it is necessary at runtime jumpers support the floor slab to relieve the wall. This may be necessary if the opening is very large. The designer also has the choice of the material from which the jumper will be made.

Easier - made of steel

Most often, when making repairs, they resort to installing steel lintels, since they can be done relatively easily and quickly. As a rule, they consist of two channels, but can be made of I-beams and angles.

These profiles are tightened together with bolts (the distance between the bolts is no more than 50 cm).

The length of the channels is selected so that after punching the opening they rest on the wall on each side to a depth of 15-30 cm.
The recommended bolt diameter is 20 mm. The outermost bolts should be in the support zone, that is, above the section of the wall on which the lintel will rest.

The bolts can be easily tightened if their length is selected in such a way that after installing the channel they protrude beyond its wall by approximately 5 cm.
Attention! If the wall thickness is less than 24 cm, the lintel must be done in two stages. First, installation is carried out on one side of the wall (so as not to weaken the wall), and only then on the other.

Step-by-step instructions for making an opening in a load-bearing wall with your own hands

1. Work begins by cutting out steel channels of the required length and drilling holes in them for bolts
2. Mark the outline of the future lintel on the wall. Drilling through the wall, mark a place for the lintel on the other side of the wall
3. Then the plaster is knocked down in these places
4. Niches are knocked out on both sides of the wall for installation of steel channels. This can be done by hand or with an electric jackhammer.
5. Holes for bolts are drilled in certain places
6. The recesses for steel channels should be thoroughly cleaned of brick residues with a wire brush, and then the dust should be washed off with water
7. Thick cement mortar (minimum grade M50) is applied to the wetted surface and a steel channel is pressed into it
8. The voids of the steel channel are filled with tiles from cellular concrete or brick
9. The bolts are passed through the holes. Place washers on their ends and screw in nuts.
10. When the solution sets and hardens, use a jackhammer to make an opening in the wall
11. A steel mesh is placed on the lintel and opening slopes prepared in this way...
12. Cement mortar is applied on top
13. Plaster the remaining surface

THE JUMPER IN THE EXTERNAL WALL NEEDS TO BE INSULATED

If you are making an opening in an external load-bearing wall, you should remember to properly insulate the lintel. Only in this case it will not become a cold bridge through which heat will escape from the house. If the wall is two-layer or in the future it is planned to insulate the house, then insulating it is not difficult. It is enough after making a jumper with outside cover the walls with polystyrene foam boards. It is somewhat more difficult if the wall is single-layer. Then the jumper should be made narrower so that at least 5 cm remains on the outer side for the insulation layer.
Attention! If a steel channel is mated to polystyrene foam, it can accelerate its corrosion. In this case, it is necessary to use a galvanized steel channel or coat a regular channel with anti-corrosion paint.

Figure - Insulated lintel in an external wall

You can do it another way
When making an opening in the wall, you can also decide to install a prefabricated reinforced concrete lintel consisting of two L-shaped beams. There is no need to tighten them with bolts. After clearing the niche in the places where the lintel rests, apply a thick layer of durable cement mortar (Ml00 grade) on both sides, then install reinforced concrete beam. When the mortar has set, the voids between the beam and the wall are filled with cement mortar (minimum grade M50).
After the mortar has set and hardened, the opening is knocked out, wrapped in mesh and plastered.
Attention! The brand determines how strong the solution is: what larger number, the stronger it is.

Figure - Reinforced concrete lintel made of two L-shaped beams

How to install a door into an opening with your own hands