# Forum Home Renovation Structural Renovation  Want to extend house wall out to edge of eaves. Can this be done?

## nimobile

I have a brick home with eaves. Down one side I'd like to knock out the exsisting brick wall and create a new wall at the end of the eaves for more space. Is this possible? My house is small and I dont want to add roof etc and go to a really big expense.
Aside from getting the slab extended etc and termite treatment, council, will the roof stay? I'm not a builder and have no idea about where a wall connects to the roof. If you can build walls out to the eaves, and the roof still have the same support. 
Any info would be helpful. Considering renovating but needs some questions answered first.

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## commodorenut

The bricks are only a skin, and can be moved (although at considerable  expense - footings etc)<br><br>
However, the timber frame in your wall is supporting the structure, and cannot be easily moved without major reconstruction work.<br><br>
You'd be better spending the money it will cost on an extensoin, or many, many years of hiring a storage facility.

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## Bloss

It ain't necessarily so as they say in the classics. This depends very much on the particular structure so you need to get advice from someone who can look at your house and then tell you what is or isn't possible. I have seen many examples of this being done with good results quite cost effectively, but other houses would not be worth even thinking of it. Doing a whole length of the house would be unusual though - mostly these sorts of extensions are on a room basis to gain an extra 500-600mm or so inside under the same roofline. But still possible as I say, but not easily advised on without a site visit.

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## r3nov8or

Agree this is usually done on a room by room basis. This would be the most cost effective way too. We did it when converting a room to master bedroom to get extra room length for the bed. Installed a LVL lintel across the 3.2m opening to take the roof load of the original timber framed wall.. This sort of renovation creates a bulk head, which above a bed looks/feels good. Could also be quite effective in, say, a kitchen to gain storage and bench space, or a lounge room for the TV etc, without eating into the existing room. The floor of the 'mini extension' required a small row of stumps, bearer, joists and hardwood floor in keeping with the rest of the house, and normal framing and weatherboards to finish externally. Square-set plastering internally looks clean. If doing this in brick veneer, the footings, and tieing the new bricks in with the existing brickwork would be the main considerations. If the wall is facing the sun, remember it will no longer have eave protection from the sun so insulate more than you think is necessary.

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## ringtail

Remember that the eaves are there for a reason. They protect the building fabric from rain and sun. 99 % of water damage that I repair is due to no eaves, and you know how it rains in QLD.

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## firey03

> Remember that the eaves are there for a reason. They protect the building fabric from rain and sun. 99 % of water damage that I repair is due to no eaves, and you know how it rains in QLD.

  You could do it so long as you replace the internal wall frame with an appropriate size beam for the span of the opening. The roof need to be supported while you do that. Generally a job for experts.

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