Sunday, February 24, 2013

Beaming Up

     Yesterday was BIG! It was exactly 4"x12"x13', and I wish I could tell you how much it weighed. Steven and I are so incredibly thankful for the help from Ryan, Craig M., and Craig R. You guys have definitely earned some credit, so let us know when we can help with your next project :) Yesterday's job was a full 12-hour day, whew! Can't imagine how the guys felt at the end of the day - I was pooped, and I was pretty much just the gopher.
     In preparation for pushing out a wall to enclose the future dining area, we installed an LVL (laminated veneer lumber) beam to support the load of the original roof. Obviously, a beam of that size requires some heavy duty framing below it.

Hopefully this helps you visualize the scenario. There will also be
reinforcement placed between the LVL beam and the added roof.
 
     
The day began with tearing out the overhead drywall, insulation, ceiling joists, and old/no-longer-needed wiring and fixtures. Very happy to see the old kitchen light fixture go. It was not friendly to tall people.
A stack of three 2x4s and fireblocking was added under a previously unsupported (yikes!) overhead beam, see right side of photo. Stacks of 2x4s were also added to hold up the new LVL beam.
Notches were cut in the rafters to receive a corner of the new beam. When the time came
to put the beam up, we discovered that the original roof was sagging in the middle. Several houses in
our neighborhood with the same layout as ours have this issue to varying degrees in the same spot.
To correct this, some of the notches had to be widened out, and we used a jack to push up the sag. 
   
     It was completely dark by the time all this was finished, so the photos below are from this morning after some cleanup!






          Some lag screws and perling need to be added, but the beam installation is basically done. The plan for next weekend is to frame the new exterior wall. Any volunteers? ;)

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