In the living area of my house is this decorative rail and post.
I want to remove them. While I suspect such a narrow, solitary post would not be made to bear a load, I am not a builder so I still feel I should verify my suspicion before removing it.
If the answer is just "ask a local professional", yes, I will do that too, however I'm still always interested to see what the internet has to say about stuff. If I'm lucky, some builders will respond, and that may leave me better informed for when I do go looking to pay a local professional for advice.
Some details of the home:
- professional build
- built in 1994
- two storey
- rail and post is on the lower storey
- typical (for Australia) timber and brick veneer construction on concrete slab
- no crawl space or basement below (just concrete slab on earth)
- second floor above
- the post appears to be turned from 4×4 lumber and is 60mm at its narrowest point.
I have contacted the firm that designed (but did not build) the home, and they were unable to answer my question as they claim to no longer have engineering drawings for this model of home.
I however do have some plans, and here you can see the rail and post in question.
Best Answer
That's not a structural component, at least not under normal building standards. But just to be sure, check underneath in the basement or crawlspace. Is there a support below it? If so, then it's carrying some load. If not, you're good to remove it.
Check in the attic above it. Is there anything being supported? Chance are good that the answer is no.