First you will need to take a measurement of the opening that you require & then add on a minimum of 300mm,150mm bearing for each side of the opening.This is the minimum requirement needed for your steelwork to sit on .Then you will need to figure out what your steel will be actually sitting on.
Do you need piers built or have you enough original brickwork left on each side ?If you have enough left is it going to be strong enough to take the weight your about to bear on it ? Chances are you will have to make a few repairs once you`ve made your opening so best get a couple of bags of building sand & a bag of cement before you start.Just bricks are`nt sufficient for your steelwork to sit directly on & you`ll need a couple of padstones from your local builders merchants.These are made from vibrated concrete & are about 75mm thick,so remember to leave enough clearance at the top for these plus what ever the depth of your steels are to be.
Before you start your going to need some acro props & a batton or strong piece of timber to support your ceiling & floor joists above,for a 4mtr opening i would recommend 4 props for each side of your new opening.When you put these up remember that your only supporting above & not to over tighten them or you maybe lifting the weight of above when your supposed to be just supporting it.You want things to remain in the same place,no more than that.Now you need to find out which way your floor joists are running above,this is easy enough to find out by lift the floor covering on the next level & looking at which way your floorboards are going,your joists will be running in the opposite direction.
If your floorboards are running in parellel with your wall then your joists will be running into your brickwork & this will be easier to support from below but if not its not a problem but you will have to knock a couple bricks out at floor level to spread the weight.They will need to be long enough to span from joist to joist,or from 1 room to the next,you can use strong timber,or steel & they will be around 600mm long.Then pack them tight so theres no movement between the pins & the brickwork above that you are supporting.Ideally on a 4mtr wall you would have at least 3 pins spread equally apart.Then go back down to the lower level & put your props & batton up supporting the joists that your pins on the next level are sitting on.
Now with your wall & ceiling supported & your 150mm or more bearing for your steel to sit on you should be ready to go.Before offering up your steel put a small bed of mortar on what will be the top so when you pack it up the brickwork you are supporting has a bed to sit on,now push your steel up & support it in position with a an acro prop at each end & lay your padstones on your piers.
Preferably leave this until next day & then pack the small gap between your padstones & your steel with metal shimes(thin plates of steel,approx 1oomm square)& remove the 2 props that were supporting each end of your steel.Now you can go to your upper level,remove your pins & brick up the holes you made making sure there a snug fit.Leave the props on your lower level until everything is dry,maybe another day at most.Remove your props & batton holding your ceiling
This is a fairly easy job to do yourself & as long as you have supported the weight above properly
there should be no problems.Once your steel is in position i wou
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