If you don t have a basement or have a finished ceiling take a look at your home s structure from the attic.
How to support a load bearing wall from the attic.
This project is more about labor than materials.
Replacing a load bearing wall with a support beam requires surprisingly few materials.
If you need a second wall build it at least 2 ft.
Look for an internal wall that s near the relative center of your house.
There s no need to cut another slot.
Away from the load bearing wall to leave room to work and to slide the beam into place.
It s simple and effective.
The old framing tied into the new beam with proper joist hangers and strong tie type connectors.
If you move the point loads to two locations these need to bear down all the way to footings.
The joist span depends on the wood species grade applied load and joist depth spacing but a good rule of thumb would be that a joist will span between 10 and 20 feet 3 and 6 m.
This is the easiest method because you don t have to cut into the joists or other framing above the beam.
A new beam goes in.
Often these load bearing walls are roughly near the center of the house because the center of the house is the farthest point from any of the exterior walls.
To assemble the support wall cut three plates 2x4s 1 in.
This method is popular because it does not require alterations to joists or framing above the beam.
If you answered yes to either of those questions the wall on the floor above is most likely load bearing.
One way to construct a beam is to sandwich two 2x8 boards around a layer 1 2 inch plywood.
In the attic look down at the ceiling joists and ask yourself these.
There s a good chance this wall is load bearing especially if it runs parallel to a central basement support beam.
The most common support system used to replace a load bearing wall is a beam under the ceiling and columns or posts which carry the weight down to the foundation.
How to recognize a load bearing wall from the attic.
Especially critical is the beam you use.
Wall removal and hidden beam in attic remodeling contractor talk.
Typically either side of the new beam the walls and framing is shored up.
Short of the full length of the wall.
Floor joists that frame into an exterior wall will need to be supported at the opposite end by a bearing wall or beam.
Blind beam in attic to support sagging load bearing walls 17 s to removing an interior load bearing wall how to tell if a wall is load bearing load bearing or not and install a header.
