Installing a beam for load bearing wall

In either case, it's critical that you provide horizontal supports at the ceiling and the floor for the posts to rest against, or else the posts may punch through the ceiling. Use a stud finder to locate ceiling joists, thereby ensuring that the posts will be squarely under the joists. To control construction dust, you can staple sheet plastic right to the wood.

For a better dust-control solution, you can purchase a ZipWall , which telescopes up and presses the plastic against the ceiling. Demolish the wall by gently hitting the drywall between studs with a sledgehammer. Light swings of the hammer will punch clean holes in the drywall. A line of these holes will allow you to pry back the remaining drywall from the studs.

Or, you can cut the drywall into segments with a reciprocating saw, though this method creates a considerable amount of dust. Make sure to wear hearing protection and eye protection when performing any demolition. Take care if electrical wires or plumbing pipes are present in the wall. This is the point where you might need to call in an electrician to disconnect circuits or a plumber to reroute plumbing pipes.

After removing the drywall, cut out the studs. Stud removal is made easier by cutting the studs in half in the middle, then prying away the cut ends. Be vigilant about removing the remaining protruding nails from the ceiling and floor plates. The horizontal ceiling and floor plates now need to be removed.

This is best done by severing the ends of the plates with a reciprocating saw, then carefully prying the plates away from the ceiling and floor with a pry bar.

If there is a framed basement under the wall you are removing, remember that the ends of the beam will rest on jack studs that bear directly on the floor, and thus must support a considerable amount of weight. Make sure that those jack studs will rest directly over an underlying floor beam or floor joists.

If not, it may be necessary to reinforce the space below the floor to support the weight that will be carried by the ends of the beam. Your assembly will be composed of four main elements:. Two king studs, one at each end; four jack studs, two at each end; one support beam; and peripherals, such as metal angles to tie beams in place, nails, and screws. The king stud represents the backing board for the ends of your beam.

As with all other materials here, it has to be rock solid because it serves as the anchoring surface for the jack studs. You might already have an existing stud in place that can serve as the king stud after demolishing the wall.

However, because the king stud is such an important element, you may want to add greater strength to the assembly by nailing on a second king stud. This will produce a stronger, more stable assembly at the cost of a slightly narrower opening. Measure and cut a full-length stud to run from the floor to ceiling, and position it in place between the floor and ceiling plates.

Use a level to make sure the stud is plumb, then nail it into place. Temporary support ledgers will need to be attached to the king stud to hold the beam in position while the jacks studs are installed. These ledgers will hold the beam less than an inch below the final contact point along the ceiling. Measure the depth of your beam and then add an extra half inch. This will give room to move the beam into place.

Create the ledgers with short 2x4s or 2x6s cut to the width of your king post, then nail them into place against the inside face of the king studs. Nail holes do not matter since they are eventually covered up. Measure the inner distance between the two king studs. Square out cutting lines on all four sides of the beam with a carpenter's pencil and Speed Square. You can cut your beam on an ordinary power miter saw. If the beam is too thick to be cut with the saw blade, cut as far as you can and then flip the beam over and cut from the other direction.

The support beam can even be cut with a power circular saw or manual hand saw if you do not have a power miter saw. Whatever saw you use, take care to make the cut perpendicular to the face of the beam. As with any home remodeling project, it is always better to have two people for anything that requires heavy lifting.

Start by having one person on each end of the beam and lift it level to shoulder height. Have one person lift their end of the beam, place the end onto the beam ledge or support column, and continue to hold it there for stability.

Now, the second person can lift their end of the beam, swivel it into position, and rest it on the other beam ledge or support column. Temporarily secure the beam into this position for safety. If you are doing this on your own, you can use a ladder to support the beam on one end for stability while you work to secure the beam into position. When heavy items are higher than your head, you have much less stability than if they were located below shoulder level. In addition, lifting heavy items high is a major cause of back injuries.

This might be a good time to call in a favor from a friend or even to hire a laborer for a day. As you work, keep track of ceiling movement using a laser measurer to periodically check the distance between the ceiling above and the floor. Write this distance on one of the joists and occasionally check it to make sure that you are not losing any distance. This way, you will know if the ceiling above is slowly sagging. With the beam resting on the beam ledgers, attach a pair of 2x4 side cleats to the king studs at both ends of the beam.

Nail or screw these cleats into place so that they box in the beam. This effectively creates channels on both sides of the beam, ensuring that you'll be able to lift the beam upward without fear that it will slip off the ledgers. The next step is to lift the beam into place so it rests firmly against the ceiling. This can be done by having a helper lift at each end of the beam.

Twelve-inch-thick steel beams can be used in the basement. They can run 16 feet or longer without steel columns in the middle. While considering the types of beams to use for your load-bearing interior walls, make sure that the columns that will support the beams are standing on solid footing. Choose a State:. Choosing Beams to Support Your Load-Bearing Interior Wall When choosing and installing the beams and columns that support the load-bearing interior walls of your house, you must ask a structural engineer to help you.

Here are some tips on types of beams and their usages: 1. You can also buy a sawn timber for use as a beam. This type is commonly used in log homes. So how do you know whether a. You can install a beam above the load wall where it sits on top of the ceiling joists. The rest of the walls, the partition walls, are simply there to divide rooms. In the way, this can be challenging to do.

It requires engineering to ensure that the beam can support the load over the span between support members. There are a number of ways to remove a load bearing wall. There will be a sweet, full span, bifold door going in here too! Stay tuned for that. If the basement is finished, or if there are walls, beams, bathrooms etc. You can insert new beam into ceiling area and use joist hangers. This is done with another set of shore posts you can rent these from a rental store , or wood.

Today we make a window opening bigger. Set up a temporary wall to support the load while we install the beams. And use hangers that drop down and carry. And review your plans with your local building inspector, especially regarding the size of the beam you plan to install in place of the wall.

These are called bearing walls. To remove a load bearing wall you first have to add temporary shoring to support the structure.