Walls and Ceilings - Moving a Load-bearing Wall

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athenshome
04-30-09, 05:02 PM
I have a bathroom on the second level of my house that is very narrow. I am thinking about expanding the load-bearing wall. where the vanity is currently up against, out approx. 3' to obtain more room in the bathroom. The other side of the wall is a bedroom, so there would not be any true obstructions stopping me.

My question is what needs to be done in the attic to make this possible and not mess up the structure in the attic? Is this advisible?

I have a drawing of my idea for this, as well as some pictures for reference, and if that would help, please e-mail me and let me know (doc@athenshomeinfo.com Any advise regarding the structure would be great. Thanks in advance.

mskin
04-30-09, 08:37 PM
i would assume you need to install a beam where the load bearing wall is to pick up the load of the ceiling joists above. You will be altering how the loads are transferred through the structure. This doesn't only effect the second floor ceiling, but you are going to change the properties of the load bearing wall below, and possibly even the loading on columns in the basement - you could possibly move load from one column to another. you should really consult a structural engineer (there are some small local guys in my area that would review the situation for a couple of hundred bucks). Your building inspector would probably want a stamped drawing sizing the beam anyway.