Help with framing out possible load bearing wall

10 years ago

Hi! I am trying to create a mudroom by removing a pantry closet and expanding 13" into the garage. The length of the wall would be about 6 feet. I've attached a photo of the view of the door to the foyer (you'll see the side closet wall) and the garage. I would keep the wall where the door bumps up against it when open and start the bump out 5" or so further back. There are 5 steps up to the garage and the space under the foyer/closet is open for storage. While the garage wall doesn't go all the way down to the garage floor, there is a supporting post or two. It is open to slide things in and out for storage at the garage level.

The contractor we hired thought that the wall was load bearing and was slightly concerned about taking it down and putting the mudroom cubbies there. He was concerned we were at the point of needing an architect. We'd rather not pay for an architect as the return we are going to get on $10K for a mudroom (maybe less) was already questionable but at the same time we don't want the house to fall down. While others pointed out that it already had a support post on the bottom so it probably wasn't load bearing, I wonder if the previous builder just took a chance by cutting a corner since it is a very small space. I had a few contractors in for bidding and all of them thought they could frame out the wall and then create the bench/storage for the mudroom on that side but they only looked at it quickly to get a rough estimate on the cost.

We aren't going to use the studs as the walls for the cubbies because they won't allow enough space for the bench and it would sort of defeat the purpose of expanding into the garage. I'm not going to create actual cubbies because people have said that's restrictive and it is better to just have the beadboard with 5 hooks.

Please let me know if you think framing out a load bearing wall is fine and also, how can we tell if it is load bearing or not.

I will try to post a photo of the post with the storage space in the basement later but here's the view that I have of the general area

Thanks!

Comments (6)

live_wire_oak
10 years ago
You need the opinion of a structural engineer. A quick consult like that won't be very expensive. Your contractor should be the one coordinating that and just add it to your build.
CT_Newbie
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks livewire, I will ask him. However, since he had mentioned "architect," and not "structural engineer" I suspect he might not know of any structural engineers.

I should be at the house tomorrow and can take a photo. They are starting the demo tomorrow or Friday but I'm not sure if it is just the closet or if it includes the garage wall.

So by "quick" you think it might be under $500 or certainly under $1K, right?

Thanks
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ChrisStewart
10 years ago
Load bearing refers to how much weight the wall is supporting. -Usually second floor or roof or very heavy ceiling.

It seems to me you are just talking about pushing the wall to the right of the door 18" into the garage to make room for storage and seating.

I would think that an engineer could advise you in less than two hours. As long as what is above that wall can be seen.
Look for a structural engineer that specializes in residential.
CT_Newbie
Original Author
10 years ago
I asked the contractor if we needed a structural engineer to take a quick look. The contractor assured me that he was confident about framing out the wall that connects to the garage. However, a day later, I get a voicemail from him stating that the inside wall, the one that had the pantry door is load bearing. I was planning to push that one out to the left 3". He said we just need to be sure about the measurement, whatever that means.

Are there techniques for moving a small section of a load bearing wall? I will have a small broom closet whose side walls will be perpendicular to the load bearing wall (that has been now stripped down to the studs). Perhaps those could take on some of the weight? The closet is only going to be about 15" wide.

I am hopefully meeting with the contractor on Monday, to scope out the dimensions of the wall. Just want to know what sort of questions I should ask and to have opinions that may jive with what he says.

Thank you!
ChrisStewart
10 years ago
It would be a lot clearer if we had a plan to look at but usually load bearing walls can be replaced with a beam.
renovator8
10 years ago
The wall opening would be framed like a doorway with a header beam above supported at each end by 1or 2 jack studs that rest on something that will allow those point loads to be transferred to the foundation. An engineer would determine the load, size the beam, choose the number of jacks (beam bearing), and add support below the floor if necessary.