Expert: Dave Johnson - 7/19/2008

Question
I have a similar situation as the other post you answered b4.  i too have a three area place that i want to combine into one.  my house is single story and has the old kitchen back wall splitting the two halves of the new room. i dont wanna have an ugly been going down the center of the room.  is there a need for it?  the room will berouchly 30x30 when done.  and has rooms with walls on either end.  its a typical ranch design.   wanna make it  a walkin and see everything house.   question # two is.. they have added a crappy addition just tacked onto the rear of the house. it is not affecting the rooff too much nor the wall it is attatched to.  how hard is it to just rip it off? its about 30x12

Answer
Hi Dustin,
#1: You will have a 30 ft. span when the wall is removed, so you really need a beam. However, you can also make trusses out of your existing rafters and joists: If there is enough room above the room in question, you will need to make a "common truss". This is done by using 2"x6" "webbing" make a "W" by starting at the ridge and going from there down to a pint 1/3 the distance of the entire bottom chors.
From there go up to a point 1/2 way between the ridge and the outside wall.
Do this on each side of the ridge, and THEN remove the wall below.
I hope this is clear, if not, we;ll try again.
Good luck,
Dave