Steel beam header

center supporting wall on the opposite side of the house

The wall between the living room and bedroom is a supporting wall. A supporting wall can not be removed at will, or the house is at risk of collapse.  The load of the structure of the house must be transferred to other means of support. The removed wall must be supported with temporary removable support in order to be replaced with an adequate header. After rebuilding the header will carry the load of the house previously supported by the supporting wall. In this case a steel beam will be put in in place of a wooden header. It had greater efficacy financially and structurally. The steel beam will required but two upright supports in addition to being carried by the outside walls of the house. 

Stripped wall between living room and former bedroom

Steel beam set in place supporting house

Saddle welded to the steel beam to secure its position

post supports the steel beam

This project was started by planning a substitute temporary support to replace the wall. It was done by propping up the wall with 2x4 studs. For a short time, an hour or so, studs were wedged in between the floor and the ceiling joists next to the existing wall as the temporary support. The wall was then removed and the steel beam was lifted into place. The steel beam is supported by posts with saddles welded onto them. The beam sits in the saddle on the posts, and the saddle is welded to the beam. This is the alternative system for replacement of the supporting wall. Do not try this yourself! There are specific load calculations that must be done by an expert to insure that the load will be carried adequately.