Install A Load Bearing Beam In The Attic

Whether you are creating a new opening in a load bearing wall or just widening an existing opening your work will require the addition of a header or beam.

Install a load bearing beam in the attic.

One non load bearing and one load bearing. The lvl i figured i would need is 22 feet long and i thought i would put 2 of them together. Replacing a load bearing wall with a support beam requires surprisingly few materials. I m just guessing but it looks like the joists were nailed where the load bearing wall used to be.

You can insert new beam into ceiling area and use joist hangers. I am removing a wall that separates my kitchen and living room. The kitchen ceiling joists and living room joists always overlap above load bearing wall. The home inspector said to hang a beam in the attic and secure the joists to it since it is only the ceiling weight being supported i will be using 2 laminated 2x10s across the.

You can install a beam above the load wall where it sits on top of the ceiling. If there s an attic above the load bearing wall you want to remove and the roof is framed with trusses you can t bury a beam in the ceiling and will have to leave it exposed. And nearly all methods will require the addition of a load bearing beam. This project is more about labor than materials.

Mounting the header in the attic for the load bearing wall. Placing the beam below the existing ceiling joists is a method that s pretty straight forward. Somewhat messy in that you usually end up tearing out a lot of ceiling sheetrock for access. So needless to say there are signs of a minor sag in the ceiling.

Especially critical is the beam you use. One way to construct a beam is to sandwich two 2x8 boards around a layer 1 2 inch plywood.