Load-bearing wall

A load-bearing wall carries the weight of the floors above and passes it down to the foundation. Remove or weaken it and the load redistributes unpredictably: cracks, sagging slabs and, in the worst case, danger to the whole building. That is why structural elements are touched only according to a design.

Most new buildings in Almaty and Astana have a monolithic concrete frame. The load is carried by reinforced-concrete pylons and shear walls (which also keep the building from swaying), while many partitions between rooms or apartments are non-bearing block or brick walls. In brick and panel buildings several walls may be bearing at once, and you cannot tell by thickness or material. "The wall looks thin, so it must be fine" is a dangerous assumption.

How to find out. Check the apartment technical passport and the building design documentation, available from the developer, the management company or the homeowners' association. Knocking on the wall or judging by eye proves nothing. If documents are missing, a structural engineer should inspect the building before design begins.

Can you open it up? Removing a load-bearing wall completely is prohibited. An opening is sometimes possible, but only with a technical opinion and a reinforcement design: the opening is framed with a steel frame or strengthened another way, calculated by a specialised design organisation, usually with the involvement of the building's original designers. Some of them refuse openings in bearing walls on principle. Neighbours above and below can also be affected. A redesign that touches structure normally needs approval from the local akimat and acceptance by a commission; check the procedure with the public service centre (CON) and the architecture department in your city.

Typical mistakes: demolishing or "trimming" a wall before approval; chasing bearing walls and pylons for pipes and cables and damaging the reinforcement; cutting large niches or openings for an air conditioner or shelves; buying an apartment and planning an open layout without looking at the structure; trusting a contractor's verbal "you can do it here". Before drilling or cutting any structural element, ask a structural engineer.

How we work. Every layout starts with a measured plan and a map of the bearing frame: it determines which walls can move, which can only get an engineered opening and which cannot be touched. A good layout is often possible without touching bearing walls, using partitions, niches, sliding doors and built-in wardrobes. If an opening is needed, we plan time and budget for the opinion and approval at once. The studio designs; construction is done by a contractor, and the reinforcement calculation by a specialised design organisation.