How to Temporarily Brace for a Load Bearing Wall Removal

When doing any interior work on walls, you need to identify which walls are load bearing and which are not. Removing a wall that isn't holding anything up is fairly easy, but removing a load-bearing wall can endanger the structural integrity of your house. To properly remove a load-bearing wall, you need to replace it with a temporary wall until you have replaced it with a beam or a new permanent wall.

2-by-6 lumber
Measuring tape
Circular saw
Screws, 3 inches long
Drill
Wedges

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length of the wall that you will be removing. Cut a top and bottom plate for a temporary wall that are the same length. Determine the number of studs you will need by dividing the length in inches by 16, adding one and rounding up. For example, if the distance is 154 inches, you will need 11 studs.
- 2
  Measure the distance from the floor to the ceiling next to the wall that you will be removing. Cut the studs to this length minus three inches.
- 3
  Mark off the top and bottom plates in 16-inch increments.
- 4
  Lay out the wall on the floor by placing the studs in between the top and bottom plates. Screw the wall together by driving two screws through the plates and into the ends of each stud.
- 5
  Stand the wall up and position it 12 inches away from the wall you will be removing. Tighten the wall between the floor and the ceiling by tapping wedges in between the floor and the bottom plate underneath the bottom of each stud.

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