The Header Goes Up.

Today was a fun day over at the house. Connecting the existing kitchen to the sun room by taking out a separating wall has been a project that Zanna and I have wanted to do since day one. However, since the separating wall was load bearing we had to make a few structural improvements to be able to remove the wall. We hired an engineer to help calculate the beam size and provide structural calculations and details for our permit drawings. The seemingly simple removal of the wall was in fact quite complex because the engineer specified that a post be placed on a new footing in the basement to support the span above. This footing will help transfer the load of the second level all the way down to the basement floor. Further, the footing had to be inspected prior to pouring the concrete which added an additional hoop to jump though. We called for our first inspections last week which included the footing. In addition, we also had our ruff-in plumbing and HVAC inspected, all of which passed. After the inspection we were allowed to pour the footing. While the concrete was setting up, I built temporary walls on either side of the header to support the floor joists of the second level. This was important because if we did not support the floor above, when we removed the load bearing wall our bedroom would have came crashing down into our kitchen. After two days the concrete had cured and we could proceed with the removal of the bearing wall. After all this preparation, our friend TJ came over to help with the finally installation of the header beam. We tore out the existing baring wall, cut back the joists, and inserted the header. It was very satisfying to see the space change so dramatically. It was a great day. See the pictures below.