01 · Challenge
Load-bearing wall between kitchen and living room
The owners of a stairwell flat in Rotterdam-Noord wanted to open up the closed kitchen to the living room. The partition wall turned out to be a load-bearing internal wall supporting the upper floor and the roof. Simply removing it was not an option: the forces had to be transferred to a steel beam spanning the full opening. This required a precise structural calculation for the bearings and the anchoring into the flanking external walls.
02 · Our approach
HEA beam calculated for all load levels
We drew the existing and new situation to scale and calculated the HEA 200 beam for bending moment, deflection and support reactions. The bearings were fixed into the load-bearing side walls with a mortar bed and steel plate. Because the intervention is entirely internal and the external shell remains untouched, no building permit was required. We delivered the drawings and structural calculation as a package for the contractor.
03 · Result
Open-plan kitchen-living room, structural engineer approved
The load-bearing wall has been replaced by a slender HEA 200 steel beam. The property now has a continuous living space from the kitchen to the garden doors. The contractor carried out the demolition work and beam installation in 1 day. No permit required, no aesthetic review. The structural engineer signed off on the calculation.