Beams are an important aspect of your home’s frame and structure. They bear the weight of the building and make sure everything stays in place. A load-bearing beam is essential if you intend to remove load supporting walls and open up your floor plan for more space. This is a relatively big project that requires considerable amount of skill and some time to finish. At Gordmay Construction, your Ottawa beam specialist we follow the process mentioned below.

Determine the Type of Wall Our first step is to determine what kind of wall we need to remove. If the wall just separates two rooms and doesn’t bear much of a load, there’s no need to install a beam to act as support. However, if the wall is a load-bearing wall, we will need to install a solid and sturdy beam to bear the weight of the structure above it. The wall removal is also handled differently if the structure bears load.  You must have a structural engineer determine the type of beam required & whether HSS posts are required.

Remove the Drywall After we’ve determined the type of wall, we remove the drywall and strip the support beams from both sides. We’re very careful to ensure that the beams aren’t damaged and the support isn’t rattled before we have secured it properly. We will shut down the electrical circuitry before we start cutting into the drywall.

Temporary Wall Support Our next step is to stabilize the structure to with temporary wall support. This will keep the structure above the load-bearing wall in place as we remove the old beams to open up the space.

Remove the Old Beams and Install Beam Cradles Once the temporary support structure is in place, we will remove the old beams carefully. We’ll then install temporary cradles for new beams that would act as support as we install the new ones in place. The number of cradles depends on the size of the beam.

Install the Beam We’ll measure and cut the new beam and install it in place, add some floor blocking, and then remove the temporary wall we built earlier. This beam will flex a little as it bears the load but will eventually settle into place perfectly. We will remove the cradles once the beam is secure.

If you want more information or have questions about beam installation and renovations, our experienced installers at Gordmay Construction can help you. Don’t hesitate to contact us on 613 715 4841 or fill in this contact us form.