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Buying the materials
Any lumberyard will be able to furnish the beam and other materials. Our 12-ft.-long beam was made from doubled 11-7/8-in.- wide x 1-3/4-in.-thick “LVLs” (laminated veneer lumber), a very common, strong type of beam that looks exactly like thick plywood boards. The beam system we show will work for nearly any opening up to 12 ft. wide. But your beam could be made from other materials ranging from simple doubled 2x12s for shorter spans to more exotic beams consisting of glued and compressed stranded wood fibers or laminated 2x4s. Don’t worry—our techniques will work for whatever style beam your situation calls for.
For constructing the temporary support wall, buy three 2x4s the length of the wall for the plates and enough 2x4 studs to space them every 2 ft. Also pick up a couple of shim packs and a 1-lb. box each of 8d and 16d nails.
Strip the drywall
Start the project by shutting off the circuit at the main panel. Remove the baseboards on both sides of the wall and any electrical cover plates. Then slice through the tape at inside corners at the ceiling, and at any adjoining walls. If there aren’t corners nearby,make a vertical slit just beyond the wall. Next, tear off the drywall. Take off one side first by driving a hammer claw through the drywall and simply pulling a chunk free. The first side will come off in small pieces. Loosen the drywall from the other side by rapping on the backside near the studs to free it from the screws. That way you can take off large pieces and minimize the cleanup. Now remove any outlets or switches, and disconnect the wires. Then pull the wires through any holes in the framing and cap the ends with electrical connectors to ready them for rerouting.
Build the temporary support wall
Cut a 1-ft.-wide “observation” slot in the ceiling drywall next to the wall, look for overlapping floor joists and note how far their ends lap over the wall. If the ends of the joists from one room overlap 2 in. or more, build one support wall, making it close enough to the bearing wall to support the joist ends. If the joists are single continuous boards, one wall will work as well. But if the joists are spliced end to end or if some ends don’t project far enough to be supported by the temporary wall, you’ll need to build two support walls, one on each side of the bearing wall. If you need a second wall, build it at least 2 ft. away from the bearing wall to leave room to work and to slide the beam into place. The second wall can be mounted directly under the drywall; there’s no need to cut another slot.
To assemble the support wall, cut three plates (2x4s) 1 in. short of the full length of the wall. Tack one plate to the underside of the joists parallel to the wall and another to the floor directly below it. Tack another plate to the underside of the ceiling plate. Then cut studs to fit snugly and tack them to the plates every 2 ft. with two 8d nails at each end. Light taps from a hammer should drive them into place. If it takes serious blows to drive the studs home, you’re liable to lift the floor or crack drywall joints somewhere above. If you cut a stud a little short, just drive a shim beneath it.
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