Reconstructing a Timberframed Wall 

As an amateur with woodworker, i typically feel overpowered with the entire arrangement ru-vid.comUgkxrYREG3-7f1Aqk9ams3ZESRNzGnfdUtyQ . Be that as it may, this arrangements drove me through with much clarity and effortlessness woodplans. Works i now work like a genius. That is great!

Architect from the Netherlands here, specialised in heritage buildings, and i second what been said before, get an engineer or architect to take a look at the structure. Old buildings move in mysterious ways and you are not always sure what suports a wall. Make sure you know wheter the diagonal (to the outside wall) or the vertical (to a baseament wall) beam suports most om the load. My guess would be the diagonal. I would like to add the the brick in between the fachwerk also functions (or in time has started to function) as diagonal support, makking it risky to just remove all the brick. At the very least bolt (no srews!) the 2 beams together. The waterpipe is likely lead looking at the curve in the pipe and the conection. A few good books on fackwerk: "Das zimmermannsbuch", reprint from 1895 and das Holzbaubuch reprint from 1909.

Hi! as a civil engineer, I would STRONGLY and REPEATEDLY recommend you to put another wood column under the extreme of the beam that now has a tenon. For the rest, good job!

Laura. The engineers and architects have given you plenty of good advice on the structure. As an actual carpenter and contractor, I will tell you that we would support the ceiling by placing temp walls on either side of the wall that you have removed. This would involve a couple of beams (that can be reused in other places and ultimately in the final structure.) You would simply use two beams and four of your screw jacks. One set on either side of the existing wall, about 2 feet away. This would give you about 4 feet of working room when you remove the existing wall. Oh, I mean 1.3 meters. Also, I watch all of your videos and I cringe at the lack of PPE. Cover those eyes and ears and glove up--I care about you as much as I care about the guys that used to work on my sites. That said, you have inspired me to pursue a few design ideas and patents here in the states. Thanks for your show. I love the way you think.

Great content. Looks like that beam is holding but I would still recommend hiring an engineer to estimate the point load at that wall. Normally the point loads run to exterior walls but old houses can be tricky. The engineer could say whether the beam is sufficient. Just to be safe.:)

From Navy Destroyers to Power Plants, the most dangerous risk to my eyes have been working at home. Please think about safety glasses.........I want you around making more awesome videos!! DD

I think this was a really great design choice and it looks great! But I also agree with some other comments. I’m an architect in Australia and I know that laws may be different over there. But structurally a solid timber second storey has a lot of weight for a small tenon joint. I would recommend atleast another vertical upright underneath the new horizontal beam to support that weight. But otherwise a great job love the video!!

I met Lisa and Marielle last fall at the Maker Camp - they're awesome. Cool that they're there to help. And if all of the comments aren't calm it's only that everyone want to be sure you're safe and don't have your house collapse on you. Clearly you have a very technical and engaged audience. Admittedly some armchair quarterbacks (Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch?) can be overly critical, the spirit is good - they want what's best for you. great work as always. /K

Laura, you kinda did that to yourself tho 😁 in a previous video emphasizing how _all of the house's integrity_ is held up just by these diagonal beams (Fachwerk)! I'm not gonna say anything. Loved the customized helmet.

I love the Smudo shots in every video you make.

I’d highly recommend additional support under the tenon joint. The bearing of the timber into the post was compromised by reducing the length to get it to fit, it’s an easy fix.

FYI, the diagonals are for lateral strength in case of high winds (or earthquakes to extent you have risk of those). High lateral loads are rare but CERTAIN within the life span of a permanent structure. That said, no doubt the original design was rule of thumb only & NOT stochastic engineering with established safety factors. Craftsmen did what the knew traditionally worked. The extent to which removal of interior lateral support in any direction will be OK is based on what lateral support is left and how it is tied together to span past the removed element(s). These frames appear to criss cross the house about in the middle, so removing then doubles the lateral load to the outside walls & doubles the force transfer to those walls. Hopefully your friend has taken these things into account when advising you what is "approved." Fun project. No doubt I would aim in the same open plan direction. The added beam support addresses vertical load but not lateral load. If I calculated that I needed mid house lateral support as was provided a century ago I would do it with diagonals nearer to 45°at the upper corners & connections that would transfer the lateral force into the post & down to the floor (eventually to the foundation).

Laura put another vertical support on the tennon side (where the door was) to increase support, this is not strong enough, it will bow. You will loose a bit of space by adding length to the old wall yes, but it gives you a lot more structural rigidity. that sink fix is meh but if it works..

That is a trussed partition. It is similar to a roof truss. It is used where the partition supports a load above, and the floor beneath is inadequate to support that transferred load. The diagonals are in compression and they transfer the above loading away from the floor and on to the walls. By removing a diagonal, the integrity of the truss is affected, and part of the load is taken off one wall and on to the floor. In Britain, it is a legal requirement in such cases to obtain the underwritten professional services of a structural engineer. That person would assess whether this is acting as a truss, or is simply constructed as such, but unnecessarily so. If deemed to be acting as a truss, that qualified person would design both the new arrangement and the temporary propping. The partition might also be designed to resist rare event racking loads. There are implications for Building Control, house insurance, and re sale documentation. From the video, it is not possible to determine whether this partition is functioning as a truss. The new tenon joint is inadequate for a shear loading. I would be interested to learn if the administration part of this process is different in Germany.

I am glad nothing fell down. I cannot see you being able to do that in the UK. Having watched other videos like "The Gosforth Handyman" I think a steel beam would be required. Plus, you might require listed building consent. I shall be watching with interest as work progresses.

Thanks for taking up along with you Laura!!

I am absolutely loving the house-work videos!! Other content creators try to do housework videos and they never hold my attention like you do. Your videography skills and ability to write an engaging episode are unparalleled keep up the great work. You are a positive force in the world 🧡

So happy that you posted a video today! As always you are amazing and so are your friends who helped you. The natural light that you get from removing the wall is beautiful. The beams are so old and add so much character.

Well, I think the timber holding the wall is beautiful, and I don't know why you don't just leave it in place, with no plaster, or drywall on it! A great architectural feature, with the open airy feel you want, plus alot less work!!!

You are such a phenomenal woman if anybody hasn't told you yet today. What a great job you've done. Thanks for bringing us along on your journey

Smudo is the best construction foreman! 🐕🔨💯

12:48 I know the feeling! No matter how much you plan, there is always the faint possibility that the ceiling will fall on your head. It's great when it stays up!

Oh Laura, you’re my favorite RU-vidr, huge respect, but as many have said in the comments, that beautiful wall modification is not at all safe. A modified safe opening will also be beautiful, don’t worry!

Loved the guests, hope you had a good time.

I’m not an engineer but common observation seems to show the horizontal cross beam is seriously compromised at the mortise and tenon joint on a (4”?) beam. Considering how it was supported before and the fact that joint now carries the weight of the house.

Seeing that plumbers putty reminded me that I fixed a leak almost 10 years ago with that stuff. Still leak free!

Just for the record since there are a lot of comments about this: 1. calm down everybody ❤️ 2. the pipe fix is temporary since I will rip out all the old pipes anyways. But we need it fixed now because we need water. 3. I had a friend (who's is a professional at rebuilding Fachwerk for 30 years) look at the wall construction-it is approved and safe. ✌️ 4. The house renovation is a process that will take me about 2 years...I am not done with this wall. the nature of producing weekly videos demands that I stop at a certain point and continue the next week.

Love you videos. I'm a registered builder in Australia. I would suggest putting a wooden arch in that opening for the bracing element that you removed. This would support and transfer load from the new beam. And yes the tenon needs support, you could laminate a similar timber to the tenon post, 35mm support for the full length. Maybe you could do one on the other side and incorporate into an archway?

Lisa and Marielle are the best!

Hahaha „du bist so ein *rschloch“ subbed as „I like you“ 😄

You are in expert hands with Lisa and Marielle!

Great progress and video, congrats! I have to say I agree with my collegues in the comments (engineer) : puting all the weight on this single tenon is not a good solution. More importantly than that though, removing diagonal beams completely changes the loads in the structure and I would definitively add diagonal support of some sort (even if smaller).

So nice to hear you speaking in your native tounge 🤩

what a cool crew!

Two of my favorite people!

You probably need a support under the mortise and tenon joint. All your load at that end is bearing on half the cross section. Put another vertical there. It won’t shrink the opening much and will give you proper bearing.

Loved the "I like you"-translation :-D

I believe you should re-install a diagonal beam to replace the one you removed. The construction is not only there to keep the roof up, but also to stabilize your house against horizontal wind forces.

G'day from Australia. My grandfather taught me that you can lubricate a hand saw with a bar of soap. It works very well.

I'm just imagining leveraging a crowbar against a wall here in the States. There are old houses built like this, but in most places, you absolutely could not get away with that. There'd be a hole in the drywall in _moments._

Laura, think of this as one of your folding tables. It’s not the lack of material, it’s the lack of triangles. Even just some 3 foot triangles in the upper corners would do a lot to keep it rigid and strong. Keep up the good work.

Hello Laura, The house is coming along wonderfully. Love to see the care and effort you are putting into re-using materials in the house for the re-build. That is super cool as it will preserve the house’s character/history. Please don’t forget to use eye and ear protection when using power-tools . Hello from Canada!

Love watching how the timber frame is constructed. Our house dates back to 1690s, in the North West of England & we found an oak joinery specialist to help reconstruct and integrate the old with the new. Keep up the great work. Love it!

Good job, but you need to add a 2nd vertical beam to additionally holdup the horizontal beam with the tenon. Think about it, you only have the size of the tenon holding up everything!

I'm calm, but I think it would be wise to add a 2x4 stud to support the horizontal beam. That would add a LOT of strength to the system. You have 100% of the beam supported on one end, and a tenon on the other end... but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In theory, the large horizontal beam is effectively only as strong as the tenon. Love the project. Keep at it !!!

Considering the age of the water pipe you may need to replace the entire length before another pinhole forms. PEX is a great alternative to copper. Laura, please protect your eyes an lungs more consistently. Wishing you, your friends and family a blessed Easter holiday and a safe renovation. Peace dear lady.

Have to admit that I LOVE old buildings and order 'things' in general. I too, have an older house, and hope now that you will inspire me to "get back at it" and get more accomplished. Thanks for sharing!!

What a beautiful door!

Nice use of safety squints when demoing a wall LOL... AvE would be proud.💪👀

I wish I could have a few beers with you and your friends 😊😎😅 so many things to talk about

Moin nochmal, ich habe das Video meinem Sohn gezeigt, der sein Geld mit statischen Berechnungen verdient und er sagt, da muss unbedingt ein dicker er Balken oder (versteckt) Stahl rein. Außerdem benötigst du diagonale Verbindungen (Kopfbänder) um die Querkräfte(z. B. Windlast) aufzunehmen! Natürlich hält das Haus zunächst, solange keine großen Lasten vorhanden sind. Ich habe mit Freunden schon 2 Fachwerkhäuser angehoben und weiß welche 💩 da passieren kann. Trotzdem viel Erfolg bei dem Projekt und viel Spaß

I love this new spacious room and I had a great time watching you complete this task. It's extremely cool that you only used wood from the house to make the new support beams. I hope that you take out that other wall as well. It's going to be amazing to watch you renovate your new home, especially if you can do the renovation using mostly materials salvaged from the house itself. Thanks for sharing this video and this home renovation series.

Great job! And great team effort. Thanks for posting, and thumbs up!

Laura... love your channel and especially renos..like the bike build. I am a degreed structural civil engineer and was planning to point out your mistakes on beam removal..Lack of lateral and vertical strength of span... but looks like this was well covered in your comments.. best of luck on your house reno.

Hey Laura, you need to put grease on the chisel mount. Then it also works with the chiseling. You can buy special grease for that. It's a Game changer. It also works for hammerdrilling. Farther good luck with the renovation. 😁

Super Idee mit dem Durchbruch, ich würde nur den Balken (senkrecht) der quasi noch von der Türe stehen geblieben ist, mit einem weiteren senkrechten aufdoppeln. Dir geht nicht wirklich Platz verloren und die Stützkraft ist nahezu verdoppelt. Hab so einen ähnlichen Durchbruch hinter mir 😊 das Haus wird so Nice!

I love seeing those solid old materials being reused!

Tolle Arbeit aber so alte Häuser haben immer ihre Eigenheiten. Habe selbst schon Häuser renoviert und würde dringend empfehlen da mal einen Statiker draufschauen zu lassen. Da Kräfte immer schräg abgetragen werden kommt nun viel mehr Druck nach außen auf die Außenwand. Das kann mittelfristig zum Problem werden. ggf kann man da auf einfache Weise vorbeugen.

As a recommendation I would change that water piping, it looks like lead piping which will give you a lot of problems not to mention it’s poisonous. But if it’s a temporary fix that’s not bad.

More progress! Great bunch of friends you have to come so far to help you out. Thanks for sharing!

Great job + excellent video. Cheers Laura and thanks for sharing. Happy Sunday! 🙂

Things begin to be seriuos! As always great job

Great job, all three of you

Your an inspiration, I've only just found you ! Blessings 🙏

Brilliant as always

Always good to see a new video Lura. So happy to see a new video on your house remodel video series. It's looking really good so far. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Keep making. God bless.

At the risk of disagreeing with the "expert'" and without seeing a detailed structural plan I think you destroyed lateral bracing. You might be able to carry static or compressive loads but I cannot imagine how you have not reduced lateral strength.

Great reconstruction project. Well worth it. Thanks for sharing the video.

smart ,good job Laura

This house is gomna be beautiful, I'm so jealous, Laura 😊

Ahh Laura it stresses me to see all this dust getting in your eyes!! Please get some goggles!

Hard work payed off!!! Looks amazing

I really enjoy watching your house project videos! You’re so talented and creative.

That tenon isn't enough, it has seriously weakened the strength of that beam and half of it is hanging out of the mortise. That is a lot of weight on a compromised piece of timber, that tenon is only about 3x2" and it is helping support a huge amount of weight, including the roof. I would be installing another piece of substantial timber from floor to beam under that tenon joint, it will narrow the doorway 3" or so, but would add significant strength.

I always enjoy watching your videos Laura, but this one was especially good! Really nice pacing, loved the switching between different people & narratives and it was great to have other personalities in the video too :) Looking forward to watch the house transformation continue..

As always, you're amazing. Two small comments : 1. Eyes protection when working on demolition, especially on the ceiling. 2. I think you need a bigger hammer.... Love the house renovation series.

Awesome to you and your team. Great job👍👊love it.😊💖

You have to love Laura can do spirit and creativity. Nothing is beyond her reach

I agree with others that there is way too much pressure on the tenon on that side. The weight of that entire side is being carried on about a 3-4” tenon. You could add another support post under where the tenon is to help carry that load. Also, lagging the 2 “headers” together will add strength to the beam.

The space looks much better opened up for sure

Don't mean to knock your effort, but I wouldn't fool with a load-bearing wall without getting a structural engineer to advise on what needs to go in to replace what you're taking out. It might require a different/thicker timber (or even steel) to hold up what's above. It seems you got it right here, and no doubt it really opened up the space. But best to stay safe.

If you have to do the beam again, put the beam in first and then put your post in under it as you can set the top and the slide the bottom in with a hammer. As other viewers have said you should put a post under the tenon end. Good job with what you are doing.

8:01 "I like you." 😂 Great work, this is going to be a wonderful room 🥰

Молодцы девчонки! Умеете работать.

This is 100% the type of content I want to see! Thanks for the great video!

Happy Easter Laura and thanks for your video

Great film, very entertaining. Modifications look awesome. Mahalo for sharing! 🙂🐒

love the translation of: "So'n Arschloch ey" to "I like you"

Are you going to put a small daiagonal in the corners...,?

Love the series ,from old to new.

Loved the video, can't wait for the next house video. Also props to the editor/camera op for always inserting sneak peeks of the doggo.

loving this video

schöne Tür.... du bist sehr praktisch... und deine Videos machen süchtig. wirklich schön anzusehen 👊🏻

Always inspired by you; thanks!

Mortise and Tenon structural components, nice. "That's what you get when you don't buy Festool" 😄 I agree with fellow civil Natxo Pintxo regarding the extra wood column.

I love these videos and I love how many professionals in this subjects are leaving constructive comments :)

Love watching the progress. Always inspirational :)

I can't believe you repaired that pipe fitting rather than replacing it.

Why didn't you remove the length of pipe with the hole and replace it with new pipe? Of course, using the proper connecters.

Looks great!