[nova]

3 story house, 3 family house, size of house is 20' X 50'. Staircase is on the left side of the building. 1st floor apartment from front of house to back of house consists of bedroom/bedroom/dining room/living room/ kitchen /bathroom. 2nd and 3rd floors are the same thing except they have an extra small bedroom (1st floor doesnt have this extra bedroom because of the hallway entrance). The beams on this house go from side to side from brick to brick except in the middle area because of the staircase(the beams end there) Any way to make a long story longer I completely gutted the 1st floor apartment and removed all of the interior partition walls, including a wall that separated the kitchen from the living room which was perpendicular to the ceiling beams. My original plan was to put an i beam across this area so that I can keep an open feel to the apartment. My grandfather did quite a bit of renovation in his day and when I explained this to him he told me that I did not need to use an i beam because the beams go all the way accross from side to side, he said as long as I dont mess with the wall near the stairway i'll be ok. Does anyone have an opinion on this or a previous experience with this. Other people have told me this is a load bearing wall and should not be removed.

Sorry for the long explanation but I like to give as much info as possible in order to get the most accurate answer.

Thanks,
Ed.

 

[Teetorbilt]

You should have check prior to gutting the place. That being said, most structures of that size would have something load bearing. You neglected to mention age except for your grandfather working on it, that could make it old or 60's. What size are the beams? How are they crafted? What do the saw marks look like? All of this info can help.

 

[nova]

The house was built in the 20's, the beams are all different sizes/thickness' some are 3 inches thick some are 4 inches some 5 inches by 6 or 8 inches high(i forgot)my grandfather said those beams are ment to handle that load, it's not that I dont trust him it's just that the conversation we had was over the phone and I already did the jub so I guess I'm looking for a little piece of mind.

You should have check prior to gutting the place. That being said, most structures of that size would have something load bearing. You neglected to mention age except for your grandfather working on it, that could make it old or 60's. What size are the beams? How are they crafted? What do the saw marks look like? All of this info can help.

 

[curtis729]

Brick to Brick load question

Was this question ever answered. I have the same construction type and want to take out a wall close to the stairwell. I have a 4 story brownstone, joists run side to side, brick to brick accept for the left hand stairwell. Home is 18' wide by 38' long. The wall we want taken out is on the 2nd floor. Will I be ok if the joists are one beam side to side?