I recently removed 2 studs from a wall and now I feel like it is not enough, so I intend to remove 3 more.
The house is 26' wide and 30' long, built in 1918. It has a basement, main floor, and attic.
here is a 3D model made before I started removing studs. The section of wall, from which I am removing studs, is right behind the brown sofa on the main floor: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=DPzGt7FHxGV.
There is a 6×6 beam in the basement running the length of the house, supporting the joists of the main floor. It runs, roughly, down the middle of the house:
The wall, from which I am removing studs, runs right along on top of the beam, essentially dividing the main floor in half lengthwise. Here are some current photos:
The joists of both the main floor and attic floor run widthwise, perpendicular to the wall I'm working on. I assumed that the wall is load bearing, supporting the attic joists, however, when I removed the first two studs, the bottom plate was suspended not touching the sub floor. Maybe the bottom plate was just bowed up in that place, though.
So, my question is: What should I use for a beam? It's going to be about 9'2-1/2". I'd like to assume that the wall will be supporting the attic joists and that 4 or 5 people might be walking around up in the attic at some point.
Best Answer
I think it is time to call a structural engineer before you take out any more studs. Once the mistake is made and you take out too many, it may too late to correct the problem or very costly to fix. If it is a load bearing wall, taking out even one without supporting the load above, could be a costly mistake.