Friday, March 18, 2005
Kind of Like Playing Jingo, Except with Your Home
Question: How do I know if I can remove a center wall in my house and not effect anything? The length of wall I would like to remove is about 10 feet. I am trying to remodel my kitchen and expand it. What is the rule of thumb for removing walls? How much can I take out before causing structural damage?
Good question, and thanks for sending it in. First, a simple but necessary disclaimer. Tearing down and moving walls in your home is a difficult and painstaking process that is best left to professional carpenters. You should always seek the opinion of a professional builder in your area before you attempt to rearrange the original structure of your home. You might cause some irreparable damage to your structure. That being said, here are some ways you can determine if the wall you are considering moving is a load bearing wall.
Most of the walls in the center of your home are load bearing walls. Load bearing walls support he weight of the ceiling joists and most of the roof. The quick way you can check for this is to examine your construction from your attic space. Walking on the ceiling joists can be dangerous and can result in damage or injury of you fall, so please be careful. When you locate the center walls, be on the lookout for metal or wood plate where the raters and wood supports are joined together. The only exception to this would be a truss support home that relies on trusses to support the weight of the structure.
If you find that you need to move a load bearing wall, you can do so with the help of a beam installation. The beam can be open, like those you see in a doorway, or a blind beam installed in the attic. Installing a beam should only be attempted by a skilled builder with the knowledge of structures and their weight distribution. Thanks so much for you question.
Good question, and thanks for sending it in. First, a simple but necessary disclaimer. Tearing down and moving walls in your home is a difficult and painstaking process that is best left to professional carpenters. You should always seek the opinion of a professional builder in your area before you attempt to rearrange the original structure of your home. You might cause some irreparable damage to your structure. That being said, here are some ways you can determine if the wall you are considering moving is a load bearing wall.
Most of the walls in the center of your home are load bearing walls. Load bearing walls support he weight of the ceiling joists and most of the roof. The quick way you can check for this is to examine your construction from your attic space. Walking on the ceiling joists can be dangerous and can result in damage or injury of you fall, so please be careful. When you locate the center walls, be on the lookout for metal or wood plate where the raters and wood supports are joined together. The only exception to this would be a truss support home that relies on trusses to support the weight of the structure.
If you find that you need to move a load bearing wall, you can do so with the help of a beam installation. The beam can be open, like those you see in a doorway, or a blind beam installed in the attic. Installing a beam should only be attempted by a skilled builder with the knowledge of structures and their weight distribution. Thanks so much for you question.
