Removing a dividing wall — to create a through living-and-dining room, for example — leaves you with a rectangular opening formed by the RSJ and its piers. If you prefer a curved archway, you can buy ready-made metal formers that are fitted in the... 

If the wall you are removing is deemed unsuitable as a basis for the supporting piers, you have two other choices. Where the adjacent wall is double thickness you may be able to cut a hole to take the end of the beam, allowing the weight to be distributed... 

To remove part of a loadbearing wall you must temporarily support the walling above the opening. You will need to hire adjustable steel props and scaffold boards on which to support them. Where the beam is to be placed at ceiling level, hire extra boards... 

Once you are satisfied that the opening will be an improvement to your home’s layout, consider the practical problems. First, determine whether the wall is loadbearing or a non-loadbearing partition: bear in mind that a loadbearing wall will need... 

Making a through room is the best way to improve access between areas frequently used —the dining and living rooms, for example — and provides an opportunity for redesigning your living space. The job uses similar principles to making a hatchway or... 

FILLING AN OPENING IN A STUD PARTITION If you are making a new opening in a wall, you may also have to block off the original one. Obviously you will want the patch to be invisible, which takes careful plastering or filling of plasterboard joints. It... 

Making a doorway in an existing wall may be necessary if you are changing the use of the room or improving its layout: this is often required as part of the process of converting a kitchen, where fitted units dictate the positions of access and exit doors.... 

RIGGING UP ADJUSTABLE PROPS A serving hatch is a convenient opening in a wall, usually between a kitchen and dining area, through which you can pass food, drinks and equipment. If you are blocking off a doorway, or making a stud wall, it may be advantageous... 

Types of Lintel A lintel bridges the gap above an opening. The type used will depend on the size of the opening and availability. To create a doorway or window an opening must be made in the wall. In a loadbearing wall, the top of the opening must carry... 

Internal Walls There are two types of internal wall: structural party walls, which divide houses built side by side, and partition walls, which divide up the space within a house and may be loadbearing or non-loadbearing. do it yourself internal walls Party...