I am looking to open up 2 connected walls (they are in an 'L' shape with the longer wall being 7 feet, and the shorter being 3 feet) that separate my kitchen from the living room and dining room. Here is a link to pictures of the wall, with the drywall removed: [url]http://www.echofinace.com/header/default.htm[/url] My intentions are to remove the 4 studs on the 7 foot wall and add a 4x8 header directly under the existing pair of 2x4's at the top of the studs. The 7 foot wall runs perpendicular the ceiling supports ( one story, concrete foundation ). There is a 13 foot span from the adjacent living room wall, and another 9 feet to the outside wall. I know the wall supports the ceiling beams, as they meet above the 7 foot wall in the attic, but the 7 foot wall provides no other visible support to the roof. There is no 'post' where the 2 walls meet at the 'L' - just 1 2x4 on the 3 foot wall, and 2 2x4's on the 7 foot wall. My question is will adding a 4x8 header be sufficient to carry the load of the 4 studs I am replacing. Also, should I replace the 2x4’s on both ends with 4x4’s? I can see on the right of the 7 foot wall, above the doorway is a 4x6 header on the span to the other wall in the kitchen that is doing the same thing as I intend to do. Lastly, do I need another header for the 3 foot wall. Thanks.

im a first time sheetrocker/framer/wall builder. i have decent hammer and nail skills and i understand how walls are built. i have a few questions. i did some testing on a few scrape pieces of 2x4s. according to my home depot wall building book, it says to hammer the nails into the wood at a 45 degree angle. this never seems to work for me, and it often splits the wood slightly. the frame still holds together but its rather wobbly. its just a basic "T" if that makes sense. 2 2x4's connected in the shape of a T. is this common for it to be wobbly? id imagine the additional 2x4s on the top, connected to the ceiling would secure it quite well. am i wrong? any tips would be appreciated.