Knock a hole in A Sub-Floor Wall?

[dodger421]

A very daft question from someone who doesn’t crawl around under houses for a living.

Our shower pump has failed and needs replacing, it’s buried underneath the floor and rather than lifting Lino/plywood and/or laminate flooring I’ve lifted the carpet in the spare room and cut a hatch in the floor intending to crawl along to the shower pump.

There’s a short brick wall running the length of the house with no access holes in it (pictured) and which stops me getting to the location of the pump. Can I knock some bricks out to make an access hole between two joists or is that verboten?

 

[snowhead]

Yes, as long as you leave support for the joists.

 

[dodger421]

Yes, as long as you leave support for the joists.

Perfect, thank you for the quick reply

 

[buzzlightyear]

Be care full not to fast where they made the bricks open
Start with the brick that no mortor in and work your way in, all the best tunnel rat. Lol

 

[Mike Johnson]

In between the joist and narrower at the bottom than the top so an inverted pyramid to allow the load from the joist to distribute into the floor.

 

[telectrix]

 

[buzzlightyear]

The walls of gerico you need to blow his horn.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Tel where you in Mill View Ashford last week?

Video shows moment Ashford house exploded

Doorbell footage shows the moment a house exploded – an incident which has sparked a huge community response.

www.kentonline.co.uk

 

[dodger421]

My preferred option Tel, kiboshed by SWMBO :-( Something about liking the house...

 

[telectrix]

Tel where you in Mill View Ashford last week?

Video shows moment Ashford house exploded

Doorbell footage shows the moment a house exploded – an incident which has sparked a huge community response.

www.kentonline.co.uk

was too busy nicking some alloy wheels for the van. any rate. my electronic tag forbids me south of Stafford.

 

[nicebutdim]

Tel where you in Mill View Ashford last week?

Video shows moment Ashford house exploded

Doorbell footage shows the moment a house exploded – an incident which has sparked a huge community response.

www.kentonline.co.uk

More tracking from Kentonline website than Tel's electronic tag!

 

[littlespark]

Normally there’s a deliberate route through from one section to another. Must be another hatch somewhere in the floor.

surprised to see those walls without cables and pipes running through the gaps between the bricks.

 

[dodger421]

Normally there’s a deliberate route through from one section to another. Must be another hatch somewhere in the floor.

surprised to see those walls without cables and pipes running through the gaps between the bricks.

I would imagine there are multiple hatches in the house, but everywhere else is either Lino-on-plywood, Vinyl tiles-on-plywood or laminate. Lifting the carpet and crawling through from the spare room seemed like it would involve the least disruption/making good after.

There are four walls like those pictured running lengthways, and about 3/4’s of the way down the house another solid wall running front to back. There doesn’t seem to be a hole through that one (yet). I’ve had a camera in through a hole under a kitchen cabinet before and I think are some holes in the lengthways walls on the other side, but none on the side I’m on.

 

[littlespark]

The picture brings back memories as me as a skinny 16 year old apprentice getting under the floors...

I could fit in that space with only 2 rows of bricks... just couldnt breath out unless my chest was between joists

 

[Mike Johnson]

The honeycomb walls are for ventilation of the suspended floor space to prevent rot, there should also be air bricks in the outside walls on both sides to provide through ventilation, the underside of the floor was never meant to be accessible, but sometimes hatch's where provided if electrical cable's where run in the underfloor space, but very rare in that age of building, only when modern electricians got involved did floors get butchered, electrics where in conduit from drops from the ceiling.