Removing a center wall

2222 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by DonH, May 17, 2009

DonH

Discussion Starter · May 17, 2009

We are interested in removing a portion of a wall that runs down the center of our house. The distance from the back wall to the front wall is 22'. The roof is engineered trusses. I would like to know how I can tell if the trusses were designed to span the total distance from back to front. The center wall goes from one end of the house to the other, like it was built to support the center of the trusses, like you were stick building the roof and ceiling.
There is a 6' opening in the wall but it has a header built into it. so the trusses don't span the whole distance.
Do I need to get an engineer to look at them or assume that they are built to span the total distance?

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Five Star

· #2 · May 17, 2009

Spend the few hundred and have an engineer look at and give you some calculations!

dont be one of those people who do things first and think about it later.

then when your gonna need a professional,dont claim he charges to much!!

research,do the engineering calculations,get the permits, = GOOD NIGHT SLEEP and MONEY WELL SPENT!

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Ron6519

· #3 · May 17, 2009

"Do I need to get an engineer to look at them or assume that they are built to span the total distance?"
This would be the wrong assuption.
Get an engineer to look at it.
Ron

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hayewe farm

· #4 · May 17, 2009

Which costs more, a structural engineer for a few hours or rebuilding your collapsed roof?

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DonH

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 17, 2009

I guess the last question wasn't to smart was it? I have worked with trusses a lot, but the vast majority of them in houses, were designed for total span so you could pull out walls or use them anywhere on the roof structure regardless of the lower floor walls.
But these look a little different than what I think they normally look like. So I thought maybe there was some rule of thumb or other intellegent sign that I could use to determine wether they were full span or not.
Thanks for your answers, and I make a drawing of what is in the attic and get an engineer to take a look at it.
Should be cheaper than a new roof, even if I am doing the work myself. May save the marriage also.....:yes:

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