![]() Your local lumberyard or building supply center may be able to help you properly size your header they did for me. The longer the span, the more critical it is to size your header properly an undersized support structure could be disastrous. How long a span will be supported and how much weight it will be carrying are the two most critical factors. The correct size will vary with your circumstances. Basically what you’ll be doing is removing studs, and replacing them with a header beam, supported by jack studs at each end. This will determine how beefy your header should be. If the wall isn’t load bearing, and you’ve made sure there’s nothing important in it, easy peasy-just rip it out, no header required! What lies beneath? A little exploratory surgery… You’ve Got To Carry That WeightĪssuming your wall is load bearing, and you’ve determined there’s nothing inside it that you can’t deal with, your next move is to figure out how big your opening will be. Unless you have the expertise to do some major re-working of these systems, or are willing to hire a contractor to deal with them, you may want to re-size your opening, or find another wall to play with. HVAC ductwork or major plumbing components (waste pipes, for example) are a whole different story. Wiring is generally the easiest of these to deal with if you can re-route the wiring through an adjacent stud bay, or bring it into the wall somewhere else, it’s often a fairly easy fix. The usual culprits include wiring, HVAC ducts, and plumbing components. ![]() If you’re still game, the next step in removing any wall is to see what lurks within it. If you have any doubt and/or lack the expertise to take on a project like this, bring in experienced, professional help. The bottom line here is that removing any wall has a worst-case scenario of collapsing your house and potentially killing anyone in it. This article from WikiHow gives more details. If you have access to the top of the wall from the attic, that’s another way to tell if the ceiling joists are resting on the wall, it’s load bearing if they’re parallel, it’s likely not. Sometimes there will be posts under them, too. Usually the floor joists will be perpendicular to any load-bearing walls. If it’s a first-floor wall and you have a basement or crawl space, go down and take a look. There are a few ways to do this, depending on where the wall is located. If you’re looking to expand your horizons, the first thing you need to do is figure out whether or not the wall in question is load bearing. In many cases, though, it’s really not that big a deal. Ripping out a wall, or even part of it, can be a little intimidating. Does your dark, tiny kitchen have you feeling a bit claustrophobic? Trying to keep track of other household members, but having trouble due to a pesky, inconveniently placed wall? Fear not! With a bit of planning, a bit of dust (okay, maybe more than a bit), and a day’s work, you can tear down that wall – or just remove a big chunk of it, if you prefer.
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