Expert: Dan Griffin - 5/1/2009

Question
hi Dan I WANT TO BUILD AN EXTENSION ON THE BACK AND SIDE OF MY HOUSE.WHEN THE EXTENSION IS BUILT,I WISH TO REMOVE THE WHOLE OF THE BACK AND SIDE WALL IN MY KITCHEN.WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME THE CORRECT WAY TO REMOVE THE BACK WALL, THEN THE SIDE WALL, TO INSERT THE RSJ

Answer
Ronnie, slow up.  If I read this right you are planning on removing two existing outside walls.  These walls are carrying the roof and a second floor if you have one, and you wil need to make permanent solutions to deal with these loads and re-create the wind bracing that these walls provide.  You really need a structural engineer to design adequate safety and strength.

It probably can be done but issues may include design of a moment frame to deal with shear, creating a structural ridge to carry the roof, and headers and lintels to carry overhead loads that will remain.  I suspect that the house will be open to the elements for a fair amount of time in order to deal with some of these issues.  The design will begin with the shape of the new roof and the loads it will create and then crafting a way to support the existing structure while this occurs.

It sounds like an interesting project with many challenges.