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Can't tell what to do with this wall, load bearing??

7K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  fox_forma 
#1 ·
Thanks for taking some time to read my post as I am new around here but not new to forums in general. I feel right now I need to gather as much info as possible for my situation as I have been blown off by 3 separate GC's in my area who pulled a no show on me. I bought a house recently which has a three car garage, the third car garage side was sealed off and made into an extra room. I knew upon purchasing the house that room was going to get opened back up for my TOYS. We ripped down majority of what the previous owners did but there is a wall that runs almost the span of the garage and if I can open it up it would make things so much nicer and easier for me.

I tore down the sheet rock on one side of the wall and towards the front of the wall it is def load bearing. The only thing I am not understanding is the rest of the wall. From front to back it does not sit flush against the beam above, the framing is all single 2x6's. Where the compression post is that runs down to the cement floor is where the 2 main support beams meet in the attic for the bathroom and bedroom on the front side of the house. I know this has to stay by all means but what about the rest of the wall? Pics are below.

Here is the wall running from the front of the garage to the back, you can see the compression set-up at the front.




Rest of the wall framing


This is where the two beams meet in the attic and where the load is being distributed down to the floor at the front of the wall I am trying to remove.


From the 2 car garage side looking towards the third car. You can see the beam that spans the whole two car length.


If anyone can proved insight that would truly awesome and I keep getting blown off by local people here in town. Not sure what the deal is but who knows. Also I should mention all the joists in the attic run parallel to the wall in question so I am hoping only the front area is the load bearing and the rest of the wall was just a partition. More pics available if needed!!
 
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#4 ·
Just a follow up, i heard back from one of the GC's that blew me off roughly 3 weeks ago, he still wants to have a look at my situation but I am really not interested in paying him $300 to have a look. What steps can i take when taking down the area around the compression beams to make sure everything goes smoothly? Any ideas why they would put almost a full wall up there and not just a main support beam where load is at the front. Seems that most 3 car garages are very open generally. Thanks
 
#6 ·
To me it just seemed pretty high for a 12ft wall that I have already gutted and laid everything out for someone to look at. Maybe I just don't know what all goes into it but you can see the beams above it and the framing of the wall. I just assumed it would be something they would come in, generally look at and let me know where I stand. I don't think there is much to it. For $300 it sounds like I should be putting them to a much harder task. I would hate it if they came in for a 1/2 hr and just said "yeah it can come down here and here". I don't think there is to much to this wall but then again I am asking all the questions here so I am apparently confused myself.
 
#8 ·
The pics you have for attic are not enough. We can see a beam across the garage, parallel to the exterior opening, which way does it run in the attic? Which way (parallel or perpendicular) do the 2x4 ceiling joists on hangers in the attic pic run to the opening? Take more pics farther from the objects (6-8').

Be safe, Gary
 
#9 ·
More pics you shall receive.....

Here is what you are seeing above the beam in the garage that is running the length of the 2 car.


This is the beam that runs perpendicular to the garage beam above, they meet right at the corner where the compression beam is that runs down to the garage floor.

This is the rest of the beam to the left of the above pic.


Some shots from the ceiling opening towards the beams at the bathroom. If you can't see them to well I can direct link them so they can be zoomed in.






Also just so I don't get harassed about the open wires in some of the pics, they all have been taken care of and have their own junction boxes now. Thats how they were when I moved into the house a few months ago. I think I have more pics as well but that attic is extremely hot since I live in AZ..

Do any of them help out at all?
 
#15 ·
Here is what you are seeing above the beam in the garage that is running the length of the 2 car.

This beam runs on top of the beam in garage


This is the beam that runs perpendicular to the garage beam above, they meet right at the corner where the compression beam is that runs down to the garage floor.

Does this wall then run on top of the wall you want to take down? It looks like it was built on a beam (2x construction) to support the wall/roof above

This is the rest of the beam to the left of the above pic.

My notes in blue
It seems that these short walls in the attic support the roof?
Did they add on to the garage/roof?
 
#12 · (Edited)
Clutch you are correct, that is a post, this I know has to stay no matter what. Directly above that is the corner where the beams are meeting up in the attic shots I took. Also if you look closely at the back of the picture you will see a doorway, the previous owners opened that up to make a hallway to the bathroom because at some point one of their kids was living in the third garage. A better shot is below as to where the door use to be. I am in the process of putting a new door up and knocking down the outside add on they did since it is basically a hazard. I believe there is another post running down this wall as well but need to dig deeper into it. The concrete slab you see in the pic with no carpet on it should be the outside and I truthfully don't know if that door was added to that spot or was always there. I am trying to see if I can track down blueprints from my city building inspectors sector.


Scuba, yes there is a wall above the beam in the two car and a wall above the one in the garage in question. The main thing that has me believing the whole wall isn't bearing is from the post back the wall isn't flush again the beam above. It gradually comes away from it on a downward slope is probably close to 1" away from sitting flush to the beam. Does that make sense? I figure there is a post in the wall at the corner of the garage near the door opening supporting the beam and other post in the pic is the support for the front where the beams meet.
 
#13 ·
If there is a beam under that 2nd wall in the attic then that probably is what holds up the wall/roof above
So then it depends upon length of that beam & if it was sized right
If most of the wall in the garage is NOT in contact with the beam above then those portions can't be carrying any weight
 
#14 ·
Scuba: I am not sure I am understanding what you mean by second wall in the attic. Do you mean over where the doorway is? If so I am still in the process of figuring out what the previous owners did. The wall to the right of the doorway does not seem like it should be there, it isn't in line with the wall I am trying to remove or the actual house line, it sticks out some. Looks like it was put up as part of the bedroom they made the third garage into.
 
#17 ·
So the beam directly above the wall is supported on both ends, correct?
With that, it's still difficult to determine the span design for that beam. The load path indicates that it is load bearing but it may be enough that it's supported on each end. In any case, you'll need to hire a structural engineer to calculate the loads on the beam.
 
#19 ·
I was going to say post a pic of the outside
That changes everything
That wall was (is) or should have been a load bearing wall since it supports the roof
OR a beam above (attic/in-floor?) had to carry the weight of the 2nd floor wall/roof
Do you know if they added on the 3rd garage part or if the house was built that way?
If the wall did not originally exist then it was not load bearing

If from the post in the garage to the back there is a beam (can be 2x construction) & that was sized to carry that 2nd floor wall/roof then the wall below can come out

This is why its hard to evaluate over the net
 
#20 ·
I completely understand why the net is a pain, just hoping I can know as much as possible about my situation before anything goes further. The garage was built when the house was and not added on at a later time. Only thing is the neighbor said he thought the garage was added during the building phase and wasn't suppose to be there but there are two other houses in my neighborhood the same as mine and built the same way so its odd. I am looking into some more and trying to find actual build plans through the city, hopefully that will shed some light.
 
#21 ·
Obviously I am not the GC(s) you refered to as I am not located anywhere near you. If you need a second opinion from a doctor I bet you pay the fee without regards to the $300 you spent at the other doctor. You do so because you feel it is necessary to be as well informed as possible in the decision you are going to make. Again the principle is no different. Times are tuff and they are much tuffer for those in the construction industry then any other right now so you will get very little sympathy from me as to hard times. The tone implied in your post was sufficient to get the point across as to how you truly felt about the contractor and contractors in general. Did he really blow you off or just wasn't willing to drop what he was doing when you called and come running over right away to address your problem? If three legitimate contractors did in fact blow you off they are probably getting some kind of negative vibe from you? That in itself is a clue as to how you regard said contractors. Then that you do not feel that it is worth $300 or as you put it "not interested in paying" to have a professional opinion on the matter is another clue. I am sure you will not question the fee of the structural engineer when you consult with him or her. Obviously it is not obvious to you whether or not the wall could come down so it would be money well spent whether it took 15 minutes or not. Which again you are paying for the knowledge not neccisarily the time. Which the fact that you are not interested or do not feel it is worth that fee implies your true feelings with regards to those in the construction industry. Your reply just further verifies what your true feelings are with regards to said industry IMHO.
 
#22 ·
ARI001: Stay out of my thread please, all you are doing is telling me what I think of contractors and engineers because I came here asking for advise. I can tell you what I think about you but it would be inapropiate for this site just like it is for you tell me how I look down upon people in your profession. All i did was come here to try and get some answers before I do anything further. Everyone has been helpful and working with me except you so until you know me, or actually care to write something that doesn't bash me back off.

Everyone else who has been helping thanks!
 
#23 ·
Well guys I sold off one of my ATV's and now have an Engineer coming out next week to have a look. We discussed a few things about what was going on and basically he is charging me a 1/3rd of what others were going to charge. If I need to get permits and a new design to remove the wall I told him the wall was just going to stay up so i wasn't interested in going forth at the moment so for him to just tell me where I stand for $100 works for me. Today I also pulled down a lot of drywall on the back wall and there is another post directly in line with the one in the wall I want out so who knows, hopefully the wall itself is just a partition and most of it can be taken out.



 
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