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Tear out the bearing wall
Tearing out the old wall studs is just a matter of smacking the bottom of the studs with a sledgehammer and then wiggling them free of the top plate nails. Removing the end studs is a little tougher. Use a cat’s paw to pull the nails that hold the studs to adjoining framing. Then cut through the nails between the ends of the studs and the top and bottom plates with a reciprocating saw, and pull the studs free. The top or bottom plates may carry past the beam location. If so, cut them flush with the end of your desired opening. Then pry the bottom plate free of the floor with a flat bar and pry the top plate free of the tie plate. Leave the tie plate in place (unless you want your beam 1-1/2 in. higher), but cut off any leftover nail shanks from the wood.
Prepare the beam pocket
If one end of the bearing wall is perpendicular to another wall, you’ll probably have to remove a stud in the other wall. We’ll show you how to convert this into a “beam pocket” to set the beam on later. Remove the existing blocking stud (or sometimes individual shorter blocks) by slightly prying apart the neighboring studs with a chisel or flat bar, and then cut through any nails in the gap with a reciprocating saw. Be careful when cutting: There may be cables in the wall, especially 18 in. or less above the floor, so cut with just the tip of the blade there. Drive a 2-in. drywall screw partially into the stud near the middle, then cut through the blocking stud near the screw and pull out the halves. (It’s easy—if you’ve found and cut through all the nails!) Now the beam pocket is ready for setting the beam.
Stand the temporary beam cradles
Assemble two cradles out of pairs of 2x4s to temporarily support the beam. Make the supporting member about 1/4 in. less than the beam width so you can set the beam easily and shim it up tight to the plate on the ceiling.
Set the beam
Cut the two beam members (LVLs) 1/2 in. short of the overall length and cut notches at the top to fit beneath the top plates in perpendicular walls. (Small notches in this spot won’t weaken the beam.) You’ll need help to slip the beam members into place. Then drive shims beneath both beam members until they’re tight against the underside of the tie plate.With sagging ceilings, you may have to further shorten the 2x4 supports to get the beam to fit in. Once they’re up, tack the beam members together to keep them aligned.
Now carefully measure and cut two 2x4 “trimmers” for both ends of the beam. Tip the bottom into place and then drive them beneath the beam. They should fit snugly, but it shouldn’t take a lot of force to drive them home. If they’re too tight, trim a bit from the end. If they’re too loose, cut longer ones (it’s not acceptable to shim trimmers to make up the difference). Toenail or face-nail each one into place with at least six evenly spaced 16d nails.
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