wall opening beam sizing

huangyhg

wall opening beam sizing
i have said it before, and i will say it again, this gentlemen, and others like him, should be seeking and paying for advice from their local professionals. preferably a structural engineer, but as a last resort, even a registered architect.
joe m (visitor)18 aug 02 13:54
i assume you have a six inch thick wall by your reference to a 6" steel beam. if so the following will work.
for a single story loading situation, a site built laminated beam consisting of three 2x10's separated by 1/2 inch plywood, all glued and screwed will be adequate. lumber should be #1 grade. additionally, if you have an 8' ceiling, i believe the rough opening for a standard door height will be correct by adding only one thickness of 2x material , thus eliminate any blocking requirements. hope this helps.
i agree with redhead about getting structural advice from a real live professional rather than on the web. how do you know what the load is on the beam from the roof? maybe he has a 50 foot truss resting on it, or a slate roof, or maybe lives in lake tahoe with 250 psf snow loads. hopefully, the local inspector will require a sealed drawing and someone knowledgeable will get involved.
looks like a wood framed house addition.  have you considered a wood header?  size will depend on how much tributary roof weight ends up loading the header (if two story home, possibly second floor wall and second floor tributary as well).  another thing to consider is (if you are in earthquake country like me) seismic forces.  where the new door opening is proposed, is it an existing shear wall?  if not, gravity loads on the header is the only issue but if it is, the wall removed has to be replaced somewhere else.
like many others have said, please consult a local structural engineer or a civil engineer familiar with structural work to get the solution.  few thousand bucks spent here may save you tens of thousands later on.
good luck to you.