Tips for Removing a Load Bearing Wall

When it comes to removing a load bearing wall, there are a few things that you will need to keep in mind. This is a task that is going to take some work and some skill so that you can make sure that you do it correctly. A load bearing wall is a very crucial part to your home so you will need to make sure that you take extra time and put a lot of care into this task. Not doing it properly could end up in structural damage to your home that may be irreversible. You may even want to enlist the help of a few friends or members of the household as this is a task that is not very easy to do on your own.

Beam Placements

Many load bearing walls that you will come across are going to run perpendicular to your floor or your ceiling. If you happen to run into any that run parallel to your floor joists, then you will need to make sure that you approach these with caution. This is because they may end up hiding columns or posts. You are going to need to place a beam over the new opening that you create. This is the beam that will be accepting the load from your concentrates and above. It will go into the columns or the posts that will be at either end of your beam. Any of your new columns or posts that happen to support your new beam will need to rest on the material of your solid bearing. This will allow the weight of your structure to be transferred to your actual spread footer, wood beam, thickened slab or steel.

Professional Work

When it comes to actually getting the beam sized, then you will need to have this done by a professional. Get a person that is trained to calculate your floor as well as the ceiling and the roof loads. They will also be able to calculate any additional loads that are caused by storage in your attic or snow. If the beams are miscalculated then you could end up with a home that may over time collapse.

Hide Your Beam

One of the ways that you can get your new beam installed is to hide it into the ceiling. This is something that you will only be able to do if the height of the beam is not higher than the height of your ceiling or your floor joists. You cannot have any type of utilities that can pass through the location of the new beam.

Below Joists

It is very common for people to put their new beams onto the ceiling or the floor joists. In order to do this, a temporary support wall will need to be built on either side of the wall that will be removed. Give yourself room to work in between these walls. Get the new beam slid up against your old wall before you do anything else.