Wow, until the second picture I did not see the wall with the drywall leaning against it. I saw the first picture, assumed you mean the back wall (with the mechanicals on it) and thought “You want to what? Take out that wall, are you out of your mind? The house is gonna collapse” Then other people said “Oh sure, go right ahead” I looked at that picture over and over wondering if we were even looking at the same thing (especially after the comment about it being built in the 1700’s). Now I see it.
As for why exactly it’s there, I don’t know. It could even just be to create the appearance of an entry way into the basement.
If you know who built it, you could ask them. If you’re really not sure, I’d say hire a structural engineer to check it out. Or, if everything is up to code in your house and you’ve pulled permits for anything you’re doing you could ask your city’s building inspector to take a look at it. If you live in a small city, they’re usually happy to do it when they have a few minutes.
Do you have any photos of the exterior?
Like the others, I dont THINK its structural but cant say for sure. Ive emailed your link to a structural engineer I know and I`ll let you know what he thinks.
Hodge
The law may be different in the US, but under English law anything which is attached to land or to a house becomes a “fixture” of it. That wall would be considered a fixture. Fixtures are part of the land and usually part of the security for mortgages. So if you’ve already contracted to sell the house, you can’t remove any fixtures that were present at the point of sale, and you might not be allowed to remove fixtures that form part of the security for a mortgage.
Like I said the law may be different there and I can’t imagine a mortgagor or a buyer caring too much about that wall anyway, unless it does turn out to have a specific purpose. But it might be worth checking just in case before you tear it out.
Hodge, thanks for doing that, I’ll be interested in what he says. Here is a photo of the exterior, though it doesn’t show that wall, you can see how high the dirt is in relation to the basement, which is the same all around.
The reason we want to do this is we want to make that area into a living area, and having that wall there isn’t really ideal for the floor plan we want. It’s not the end of the world, but we’d rather it not be there.
We know who built the house, but I don’t have his contact info. I could probably find it though, I just hate calling people.
The fixture issue isn’t a problem, we’ve sold several houses where we’ve removed walls without issue. Obviously we would not be undertaking this project if the house was under contract to be sold, but until then we can add and remove non-structural components as we wish.
Thanks for all the input. I can call the code department next week and see if there is some fire code related to the wall. That door is metal, as is the door frame, so I doubt it’s catching fire anytime soon, but maybe that’s it.
Could there be a concern about a breeze from an open door putting out a pilot light or blowing the flame around in the stove? What about a breeze blowing flue gasses around so they don’t go up through the chimney properly (though I see your water heater is electric)?
Just a WAG.
I vote for some reason similar to this, or that usage of the exterior door causes some other annoying problem like snow blowing into the basement.
Can you call the previous homeowner?
Surly would prefer a modern basement also (she could get some of those boxes out of the box room then) but wouldn’t trade her house for anything - streams and all.
My father built a similar wall in our basement next to the door. Leaves that gathered against the house had a tendency to blow in when you opened the door and scatter around the room. The wall created a foyer and helped contain them by the door.
Since the door of your basement is below grade, maybe the well tends to trap leaves which come into the basement. The builder may have chosen concrete for the wall so it wouldn’t get damaged if there was flooding.
Sorry to take awhile to get back to you.
I’m afraid that exterior photo doesn’t tell me anything. I’d really need to see a photo at the door location.
I spoke to my engineer colleague and he couldn’t see any structural reason for the wall. There’s a tiny possibility that it’s a buttress to reinforce the wall at the exterior door and walkout but this is pure guesswork on his part without actually visiting the site.
If, by some chance, it really is a buttress and not just some architectural curiosity it could still probably be removed and replaced with a floor to ceiling post placed adjacent to the exterior wall. That alternative design would have to be designed by an engineer, though.
Hopefully you’ll get some answers when you look into the code requirements.
And / Or opening the door before that wall was there would blow the pilot out on the boiler when the wind was blowing just the right way.
Since you said the house was built in 2009 its plans should be readily available. If you don’t see the wall in the plans, you can just take it out. If it’s there, you may want to ask the plan architect why it’s there, perhaps it’s needed for some local code.
Where would we get the plans? Would they have them on file at the town hall?
The plans may be in the building file at the Town Hall, though I doubt it. The town really only cares about the land the building is sitting on. In my experience, coming across detailed architectural/structural drawings is rare.
if something wasn’t in an original building plan it still might have been installed with a purpose. a cause may have been found any time after any plans were filed (they may never have needed to file any). attempt to find the previous owner and ask is the least cost thing that could be done to figure this issue.
People, really now. They put in a reinforced concrete wall that large to keep leaves out? To keep a flame from blowing out? And, no, that photo doesn’t look anything like a house from the 1700’s or 1800’s.
The wall looks exactly like a buttress wall which an engineer might specify for a long run of basement wall, especially where there is concern about soil movement. I showed it to a few Structural Engineers at work and they agreed that was a likely reason the wall exists.
Disclaimer: I am a licensed Professional Engineer, but I am not providing engineering services in this post. I have no inspected the situation, nor am I licensed in the OP’s State. Seek the advice of a local licensed Professional Engineer before attempting to remove or alter a wall like that.
That looks exactly like a buttress wall? That little thing? What is it buttressing?
From my understanding, the house was built in 2009 and has soil within a few feet of the top of the concrete foundation wall, which would require support beyond that door for access to the surface. Assuming standard construction methods, there will be concrete walls on the other side of that door to form a bulkhead with stairs to access grade. Correct? If correct, those exterior bulkhead walls act to reinforce that door opening (as well as the additional rebar placed around the door).
Yes, it does have a concrete stairwell outside that door. Pic, and another, from outside.
Interestingly, it does appear that the top of the half-wall is at the same height as the ground outside.
I really doubt it has anything to do with pilot lights, as our furnace has the pilot well-protected.
I’m going to try to find contact info for the builder, and see if they have plans on file at the town hall.
Depends on the city, but plans usually have to be submitted in order to obtain building permits. There’s a good chance that the plans are still on file for a house this new.
The builder probably just reused the same form work for the interior wall (which is usually based off a 4’x8’ piece of plywood).
I’m not an engineer, but throwing logic at it leads me to this: you would not put a buttress wall at the door, since there is no soil pressure behind the door and the bulkhead structure essentially negates the concrete opening. Also, the foundation wall is braced from rotation by both its footing and the wood floor sitting on it above.
But I agree with the others that you should get more info before doing anything to it. However, if that wall serves a structural purpose, I’d really love to know, because I just can’t see it.
BTW: very interesting thread so far!
Is it just me or does that half wall look slanted?