I own a Townhome Duplex, and we have decided to occupy both sides so to I want to open up a doorway between the two units for easier access to the secondary unit. The units are mirror image floor plans and connect at the stairwell and main living room. After removing the drywall to take a look I discovered something resembling a beam across the length of the stairwell wall.
My guess is that this is the base of the second floor and has some load bearing qualities so my first instinct is not to cut through the thing and put a door there. It looks like I can put a short door (5’ tall) underneath the beam without interfering with the structural support. There are 3 2x4’s I would need to cut but it’s clear that they have no load on them and are just there for something to nail the drywall to.
I have seen a few of these duplex units that have had the stairwell wall removed entirely, opening up the stairwell to both units. Is it possible that I am mistaken about the Load bearing properties of this beam? It’s not a solid beam as you can see in the picture but several 2x6’s, and it spears to be hollow behind the 2x6 that is turned on it’s side and mounted vertically.
Ideally I would like to put a full 36 x 80 door in there, or even eliminate the wall, but do not want to destroy the structure. Any tips on how to do that without toppling the townhouse or breaking the bank?
Of course I can always settle for the 5’ door
Cheers,
Qiix
My guess is that this is the base of the second floor and has some load bearing qualities so my first instinct is not to cut through the thing and put a door there. It looks like I can put a short door (5’ tall) underneath the beam without interfering with the structural support. There are 3 2x4’s I would need to cut but it’s clear that they have no load on them and are just there for something to nail the drywall to.
I have seen a few of these duplex units that have had the stairwell wall removed entirely, opening up the stairwell to both units. Is it possible that I am mistaken about the Load bearing properties of this beam? It’s not a solid beam as you can see in the picture but several 2x6’s, and it spears to be hollow behind the 2x6 that is turned on it’s side and mounted vertically.
Ideally I would like to put a full 36 x 80 door in there, or even eliminate the wall, but do not want to destroy the structure. Any tips on how to do that without toppling the townhouse or breaking the bank?
Of course I can always settle for the 5’ door
Cheers,
Qiix
