This is one of the things I have been wanting to do for a while, and today it came time to knock it out. I am far enough on the floors now that I needed this post out of the way. This area of the stairwell was the eyesore of the main part of the house. It was very obvious that it was not original how the post and beam were layed out and finished with drywall. It also made for a very tight squeeze between the stairs and the small hallway to the bathroom.
Anyways we jacked the house up on screw jacks to take the temporary load of the second floor. We then removed the post and the double 2×8 beam above it. This was not installed right in the first place. It was only sitting on one stud on the left side, and on the right side only one out of the two 2x8s was even sitting on anything. Needless to say it was twisting from the weight. After we removed the beam and fixed the pockets they were going to sit in, we replaced the beam with a new double 7 1/4 versa lam beam. These are much stronger and are more than rated for this short span. Because of that we could remove the post making this area much less congested and also more appealing to the eye.
This change is such an improvement over what was there. I think it now screams for a curved arch with fancy corbels supporting each side. BTW, your kitchen project is just amazing. One of the best I’ve seen. Elegant but not overdone, keeps respect to the house without cheating you of any modern conveniences. Well done!
Thank you, we tried to put a great deal of thought into it.
MR. ROYAL!!!! YOU ROCK!!! Man I can’t tell you how amazing the place looks in the pictures. You truly have a passion for construction. If the Fire Fighting thing ever goes away, I would hire you in a minute. LOL Nice Job, but I expected nothing less from you guys. Hat’s off to Mrs. Royal for the work she is putting in.
Thanks for checking it out Rick
Wow, it really opens the stair way up! It’s going to look beautiful and charming when it’s finished.