A weight-bearing wall can be reconfigured whenever you want to accommodate a new interior design to your house. This can be achieved by proper planning and identifying the correct location. For those of you who do not know how to do it, you must seek advice from building professionals who have wide experience of changing important structural elements of your house. Weight-bearing walls can be removed either partially or even do it entirely at one go. However, you must always remember to provide proper bracing and support especially for your ceiling while you start working. If your weight-bearing walls are being removed improperly, you might end up with a collapse structure. A ceiling that caves in might bring damage not only to your life but also to your family as well as animals living with you.
To remove part of a weight-bearing wall, you need:
- Stud finder
- Colored tape
- 2-inch wood beam
Removing Part of Your Weight-Bearing Wall
Easy Ways for you to Remove Part of a Weight-Bearing Wall
- First thing that you need do is to do is to determine the whereabouts of your joists by using a stud finder so that you can confirm that you are really working on the right weight-bearing wall.
- Normally, you will notice that the bearing walls are designed with perpendicular, horizontal, joists together with the normal vertical studs.
Always double check with your local building contractor, structural engineer or even seek advice from a building inspector to see whether you are required to have a permit to do the above task. Make sure you receive all the detail structural information before you proceed with your work.
- Normally, you will notice that the bearing walls are designed with perpendicular, horizontal, joists together with the normal vertical studs.
- You must also mark your weight-bearing wall that needs to be removed by using colored tape.
- The next step that you should take is to use a sledgehammer and crush away your drywall.
- It is a hard labor work where you need to hit the drywall in order for it to crack but not to break the drywall.
- Once you have finished cracking it, you would be able to pry it away piece by piece. This is to prevent you from damaging the studs along with the joists located inside the drywall.
- It is a hard labor work where you need to hit the drywall in order for it to crack but not to break the drywall.
- You must also be careful and look for any plumbing pipes or electrical wires that might be located inside the wall that you want to demolish.
- It is recommended that you seek advice from a professional contractor or wiring technician whenever you stumble across electrical wires or boxes or plumbing. Do not simply remove them on your own because you might need to have additional permits in order to remove plumbing or electricity boxes.
- It is recommended that you seek advice from a professional contractor or wiring technician whenever you stumble across electrical wires or boxes or plumbing. Do not simply remove them on your own because you might need to have additional permits in order to remove plumbing or electricity boxes.
- Next, you need to cut a 2-inch bearing beam following the width of your opening by using a table saw.
- The beam’s weight would not be able to be supported once you have removed the area of wall that you demolished.
- The beam’s weight would not be able to be supported once you have removed the area of wall that you demolished.
- After that, you should be cutting six 2-by-4 pieces of wood with the same height as your wall.
- Then, three beams need to be placed approximately 1 foot from the wall on either side of your opening along with another one right in the middle. This method is used for supporting the weight of your ceiling while you do your work.
- The other three beams need to be placed according to the same manner on the wall’s other side.
- Then, three beams need to be placed approximately 1 foot from the wall on either side of your opening along with another one right in the middle. This method is used for supporting the weight of your ceiling while you do your work.
- For any exposed wall studs, you need to cut it inside the opening by using a handsaw.
- Next, you should knock them out from the wall using a sledgehammer.
- If there are any nails that impede your task, you should pull them out with a hammer.
- Next, you should knock them out from the wall using a sledgehammer.
- Then, you should be measuring your bearing beam’s width.
- Make sure that you mark the measurement that you have made on two to four 2-by-4s.
- As for each of the 2-by-4s, you need to space them approximately 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart at the inside area of your wall’s opening.
- Make sure that you mark the measurement that you have made on two to four 2-by-4s.
- Each of the 2-by-4s that you have marked 2-by-4 to produce two to four vertical supports spaced inside your wall opening need to be nailed.
- The supports should be made double thickness especially at the bottom while the top should be created in a singular thickness in order to create additional supporting shelf.
- The support beam needs to be placed across your shelf.
- The supports should be made double thickness especially at the bottom while the top should be created in a singular thickness in order to create additional supporting shelf.
- You need to cut two more 2-by-4s so that you can use them to vertically support your bearing beam for either end.
- These support beams need to be nailed into your existing studs and joists of the wall that does not include in the demolishment of your project.
- These support beams need to be nailed into your existing studs and joists of the wall that does not include in the demolishment of your project.
- Once you have finished, remember to remove the temporary support beams that you have nailed-together with the 2-by-4s.
- You must also remove the 2-by-4s that braces your ceiling beam thus enabling the support beam to be able to hold on its own.
- Finally, you have to install drywall around the opening.
- Make sure that you paint it so that your opening can blends in nicely together with your wall.
Always remember that whenever you want to remove part of your weight-bearing wall
- You must wear protection gear such as glasses, a breathing mask, and gloves especially when you have started to demolish your drywall or even using any of your power tools during the project.
- Make sure that you paint it so that your opening can blends in nicely together with your wall.
