What is a load bearing wall?
One of the most frequent questions we are asked is, “is this a load bearing wall?” Unless you are in a commercial setting, 95% of the time walls in homes are bearing the weight of something. Most of the time they are used to support the roof or the second floor above them, but at a very minimum almost every wall in your home supports the ceiling that is right next to it. This is the most logical use for a wall. Why get lumber longer than you have to go to the next wall. The shortest distance for lumber to run is always the best. So if these walls in your home are all bearing the weight of something, the next question is…
How do you remove a load bearing wall?
Well… I’m glad you asked. Here at Load Bearing Wall Pros we specialize in removing walls and redistributing the load to other portions of the opening in order to maintain structural integrity of your home. Most of what we do requires installing structural engineered lumber (such as LVL’s and gluelams’s) made by various companies to support this load. The load is transferred from the former wall to new header, then to posts that are supporting the new header, and from there to the foundation.
Do you have an example of a column being removed off of a patio?
How do you identify a load bearing wall?
Video by Rhett Creative Whiteboard Animations
What do you use to re-distribute the load once the wall has been removed?
Each situation is a little bit different, but about 90-95% of the time we install LVL’s to re-distribute the load the wall used to bear. LVL is an acronym for laminated veneer lumber, and is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood that are glued together to form one strong piece of wood. Most LVL’s are 1-3/4″ thick and come in various heights depending on the distance they are spanning in the load they are supporting. LVL’s are normally sold by full feature lumber yards, and are not normally found at the home improvement warehouse is like McCoy’s, Lowe’s, or Home Depot. Because the LVL’s are structural pieces that are man-made, they are much less likely to twist, bow, shrink, and warp then regular grown tree lumber.
How much does it cost to remove a load bearing wall?
- Removing 3 load bearing walls and installing 3 engineered LVL wood beams in a 1960s, single-story, ranch-style house cost $6,500.
- Removing (3) load bearing walls and installing (3) engineered LVL wood beams in a 1990s two-story house cost $7,000.
Every house and every project is different. Use the Request Free Estimate form on our homepage to find out what it would cost to remove a load bearing wall in your home.
Do you have an example of a load bearing wall removal before and after?
Do you have a sample view of the wall after being removed?
Do you have an illustration showing how load bearing wall removal works?
