a new beam

In the process of building the kitchen addition, it is now time to remove the existing exterior wall of the kitchen. The removal of this wall will open up the full 12’ width of the kitchen with out any support needed in the center of the kitchen. We will install what is called a "flush beam", meaning that there will not be any "step" in the ceiling from the old to the new. The ceiling will transition smoothly from the old kitchen to the new expanded kitchen.

If you are considering doing this yourself, here are a few tips.

#1 Planning is essential. The beam you see us lifting in the video on our February 1, 2013 Facebook post was specifically sized in thickness and height for the specific room and what it is carrying above, including the second floor joists and the roof.
We also built a temporary support wall to carry these items while the wall was completely removed.

Building the support wall system to hold the beam temporarily. 

View from the new addition looking into the old kitchen.

 #2 You need to know your materials. The beam being installed is a site built 3-ply LVL,

which means laminated veneer lumber. Basically a very thick piece of engineered plywood. Not all LVL’s are the same. The weight ratings can vary quite a bit. They have an engineer’s stamp on them that defines what they are rated for. If you install the wrong one, you may find an unhappy inspector on your framing inspection.

#3 You will need help with muscle. This beam probably weighed about 250 pounds and in this case was lifted up 8’ to the bottom of the beam. You can see how we put a “leg” under it to hold as we repositioned to slide it in place. We actually used a sledgehammer to move it.

Once it was in place we installed the joist hangers, removed the temporary support and now have a flush beam ceiling that will carry the load of the house for years to come.

~ The Carpenter

View of the second floor joists cut back to connect to the new beam before 

installation. Joist hangers will be attached on the ends of the joists. In this photo 

the old kitchen ceiling has not been completely removed.

View of joist hangers attached to the second floor joists.. see the bit of metal showing 

at the very end of the joists? This view is from standing in the old kitchen looking 

out into the new addition. The entire old kitchen ceiling has been removed. 

The new kitchen corner windows are in the background.