Removing a load bearing wall - with pics
#1
12-29-14, 05:56 PM
Removing a load bearing wall - with pics
So wife and I have been thinking about opening up the house a bit. We want to open up the wall between dining room and kitchen but it's a load bearing wall. I wanted to get some ideas on how much work it would be to open up the wall and if we had to add another support down to foundation in the basement before we go ahead with getting a engineer to do up some drawings.
Here is the wall in question:
With that wall we were thinking about extending the door opening all the way to the left exterior wall and putting a little island connected to the wall to add some more prep room in the kitchen. With that said, below the wall in the basement, there is a steel I beam that runs along the length of the wall currently to support the load bearing wall in the kitchen as there is another story above (2 storey home)
In this next picture you can see where that beam lays ontop another beam. To the right the beam connects to the cement wall in the basement, and on the left there is a post that goes down to foundation to support the beam.
I would be using LVL beams spec'd to the job if I went forward with it. The thing that confuses me is I sometimes hear that when you remove a load bearing wall, and change the support post locations you have to then make sure that load is now transferred directly down to foundation, so thats where I get caught up and don't know if any addition posts would have to be added to that metal beam in the basement to support the load.
Here is the wall in question:
With that wall we were thinking about extending the door opening all the way to the left exterior wall and putting a little island connected to the wall to add some more prep room in the kitchen. With that said, below the wall in the basement, there is a steel I beam that runs along the length of the wall currently to support the load bearing wall in the kitchen as there is another story above (2 storey home)
In this next picture you can see where that beam lays ontop another beam. To the right the beam connects to the cement wall in the basement, and on the left there is a post that goes down to foundation to support the beam.
I would be using LVL beams spec'd to the job if I went forward with it. The thing that confuses me is I sometimes hear that when you remove a load bearing wall, and change the support post locations you have to then make sure that load is now transferred directly down to foundation, so thats where I get caught up and don't know if any addition posts would have to be added to that metal beam in the basement to support the load.
#2
12-29-14, 06:40 PM
Group Moderator
Since that is a load bearing wall it's going to require you to install a beam to hold up the second floor. An exposed beam is the least costliest. To put the beam into the ceiling requires some major work. The red is what you'd need to hold up the second floor.
Why is the blue area built out..... is there a chimney or some kind of chase there ?
Why is the blue area built out..... is there a chimney or some kind of chase there ?
#3
12-29-14, 07:55 PM
Thanks for your help Pete.
There is some HVAC and Plumbing in the wall.
I have layed it out on how the runs go. On the left I have a 3" stack for plumbing and beside it I have a 4" duct run. On the right of that wall I also have a 4" duct that travels over the ceiling in the kitchen to feed the room above it. I could easily re route the single run on the right with a bulk head...
or we were thinking of doing something like this:
and just have a pass through with a beam so you have door opening, beam, pass through then the exterior wall.
My other question is if we could just continue off the door opening with a beam to the exterior wall and built up the supports to code on the existing door jamb instead of removing the wall completely like this
in any of these cases though, do we need to worry about continuing the point loads down to the foundation on any of the locations that are not an exterior wall?
There is some HVAC and Plumbing in the wall.
I have layed it out on how the runs go. On the left I have a 3" stack for plumbing and beside it I have a 4" duct run. On the right of that wall I also have a 4" duct that travels over the ceiling in the kitchen to feed the room above it. I could easily re route the single run on the right with a bulk head...
or we were thinking of doing something like this:
and just have a pass through with a beam so you have door opening, beam, pass through then the exterior wall.
My other question is if we could just continue off the door opening with a beam to the exterior wall and built up the supports to code on the existing door jamb instead of removing the wall completely like this
in any of these cases though, do we need to worry about continuing the point loads down to the foundation on any of the locations that are not an exterior wall?
