Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 10/13/2009

Question
we have a house 75 years old, we just had a creek overflow and flood and have gotten government money to replace the floors.

one large beam, supporting the great room and sunroom needs replacing.  question, best way to support existing wall (which used to be the outsidewall of house, inside a screened porch, has windows in it, now is inside wall of sunroom) while doing the floor replacement

Answer
Hi lyn, It's not a difficult project if done properly.  If there are floor joists bearing on the beam and supporting the wall above then you can just support the joists a foot or so in front of the beam.  The joists will support the wall while you remove and replace or reposition the beam.  If the wall bears directly on the beam or on the flooring above the beam then it gets a little trickier.  You can try supporting the floor on one or both sides of the beam if you have enough room.  To do this type of project you have to take a sawzall and cut all the nails or screws between the top of the beam and the bottom of the floor prior to installing your shoring.  By doing this, once you have your temporary shoring in place you can simply drop the beam down and install the new one.  In all of the above scenarios it is always recommended to have all of your material on hand and preferably cut to length and ready to go to facilitate the changeover.  I don't like to leave temporary shoring or supports in place for long periods of time.  When I do an R and R of a beam I like to complete the project that day, preferably within a few hours.  This will minimize any stress cracks etc. of existing wall and floor materials.  Obviously these answers to your question are based on me not being able to physically assess the situation.  If there are major structural elements or multiple stories involved it may be a good idea to have a professional engineer look at the project prior to implementation. I hope this information helps, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com