Can I Take Down This Wall?
by Dave Muirhead

My last email addressed removing a non-load bearing wall. If you missed this you can view it at our website www.building-inspections.com.
Today we will address how you can open a load bearing wall.
 
The load bearing wall usually follows the roof ridge line. In this scenario the house is supported in the center from the basement to the roof.  The load bearing wall is supporting the ceiling joists that are overlapped and sit on this wall. Removal of this wall would eliminate the needed support and cause a structural failure. When doors are needed beneath this supporting wall, a header is required. Think of the header as an arch or like a girder for a bridge. The header is supported by the doubled up studs in the picture above. The load is then carried by the header to the studs on either side of the doorway maintaining the structural integrity of the home. 

The larger the opening the bigger the header must be. The header will provide the desired opening and also define the space. For instance you may have a large opening between the living and dining room, yet the header will differentiate the two spaces. 
 
Let's say you want to take two small bedrooms and convert them into one larger bedroom. In this case you would want a flush ceiling to create an uninterrupted space. This is a much more expensive and invasive project, but is still possible. After all, we have a craft operating on the surface of Mars, surely we can combine two bedrooms into one. We will address this in our next email.

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