How to demolish this wardrobe?

[lynsay]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me whether the central part of this wardrobe frame is a supporting structure? It is attached to the beam running horizontally across the top - which also extends into the roof cavity.

 

  

[Jason]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @lynsay. We're pleased to have you join us. 

Let me tag one of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts in @EricL to share his opinion with you. However, please note you might need to engage the services of a registered builder or structural engineer to assess whether the beam is load bearing or safe to remove. 

Jason

[Noyade]

Morning Lynsay @lynsay 

As per @Jason  - but to my eyes it looks like a built in cupboard was created after the house was built. That remaining piece supported the right hand door of the cupboard and assisting in the closure of the far right door. Looking even closer - the base has been undercut to fit the floating floor.

Just an opinion.

Cheers with the renovation.

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @lynsay 

Going through your photos reminds me of one of the first rooms I "updated" in my house. I had an alcove off the side of a bedroom but for me I had a header board across the alcove. That supports stuff in the roof so I didnt touch it. With yours I am not sure. Have you looked at it from up in the roof? Usually you can see the structure of walls reflected in the relief side. To be safe Id suggest to get a carpenter at least to have a look. 

If you get up into the roof area one thing I do is to remove/switch off the circuit breakers for the house (Power and lighting) as too many times things can go wrong.

With the baseboard be prepared for it to be the bottom plate of the wall, with all the stud slots chiseled into it. (I had to remove mine and then find a matching timber piece and pack it up so it would be level. 

If you want I can go look for some pics to explain about the baseboard and header.

Dave

[EricL]

Hi @lynsay 

Thanks for sharing your question about your wardrobe. In the interest of health and safety, I suggest engaging the services of a registered builder. They'll be able to tell you if the central part of the wardrobe frame is a supporting structure. While the builder is there, it would be a good opportunity to ask them if the the other parts of the wardrobe are load bearing.

Will you be installing new shelves in the wardrobe? If you are, I recommend having a look at the Flexistorage Wardrobe Range. They have a wide range of cabinets purpose built to fit inside wardrobes such as yours.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[lynsay]

Thank you so much for all your advice, @EricL, @Dave-1 , @Noyade, @Jason. I managed to get a bit more access into the gap and discovered that the vertical beam is not actually attached to anything in the roof space, and the two other vertical beams are supporting the horizontal one. I’ve gone ahead and removed the central beam with no issue. Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it!

[MitchellMc]

Great stuff, @lynsay! 

Please reach out again if you need further assistance.

Mitchell