We have a 1960s ranch with a low pitch roof. The interior walls on the main floor are not centered under the center of the roof, nor do they sit on the center basement ibeam. One is 12" from center, the other is 24" from center. The one 12" from center I want to open up 16 feet. Could the interior wall be load bearing…and how the heck do you reinforce through to the basement if you can’t build blocking on top of the steel ibeam?
The house is 26 feet deep. I read truss roofs don’t have interior load bearing with a house this small. Is this a truss roof? Obviously that’s what I hope I have. Is it a king truss…or rafters? How can you tell?
It’s still standing after 60 years, if it’s bothering you make a comment about it. Given the information you provided (which is very well done) I wouldn’t be worried about it. It will be interesting to see what one of our frequent engineers have to say about it.
Thanks yes it’s 1 continuous 2x6. So how do you reinforce the two ends of the load bearing wall when you open it up? Our guy planned on locating the direct points and blocking between the floor and ibeam - but knowing it’s 12" makes me question that approach.
As Dave said, you really need an engineer to look at it. This is an unusual design, in that they most likely designed it for both of those walls to help direct the load to the center I-Beam below.
Getting rid of the wall would require a header to still be in place, but that will require new, direct load paths to be carried down at the ends.
If you are trying to get rid of the wall altogether, then you could do a hidden beam in the attic, where they cut all the rafters and hang them on the side of the beam from the attic. But that will still require the same load path at the ends to go all the way down to the basement.
Understood! That was the plan - to recess it. But there was no discussion of transferring the load through to the basement. Maybe we’ll be smart about where we have the walls end, so it’s at least over a joist, and then install a new jack post direct under it in the basement. We’ll get a structural engineer to confirm this idea.
Another idea, since it is a attic and will only be an attic instead of cutting your ceiling joists and insetting a beam you could set the beam on top of the ceiling joists and hang the ceiling joists from the beam, you would have to check with your engineer to see if it’s a structural solution.
The easiest (but not smartest) way to tell if you have a load bearing wall is to start cutting a stud with a sawzall. If the blade starts getting pinched about a third of the way through and the saw is trying to shake your tooth fillings out, you have a load bearing wall most likely.
Awesome point, I’ll bring it up to the guys. There’s attic opening in the garage and it’s a straight shot. Either way they are lifting a 500 lb beam haha
Good point! That would also prevent having to install 2 temporary walls before cutting all the ceiling joists.
I did this on my home in Denver several years ago, but I had to build temp walls, cut the joists, and cut/repair the drywall ceiling, because there was no other way to get the 20’ beam into the attic
Based upon your pictures and descriptions, one or both of the walls of the hallway are load-bearing. If you plan to alter a load-bearing wall, then you need an engineer to develop a structural beam design (drawing, sketch) using the appropriate load calculations.
