I have a project where I will be removing a bearing wall and replacing it with a flush beam LVL, normally a no-brainer. Engineer is spec’ing beam. My concern is that the homeowner wants the beam to be installed bearing on two existing 2×4 walls, one at the outside of the house and one that is the middle main load bearing wall. The beam will be on the first floor of a two story house with a stick framed roof. The LVL would and then blocked and braced down to the basement, beam and foundation as usual. The rub is that the homeowner wants to avoid having any posts protrude from the existing walls where the two new point load will be created. There is a finished second floor above. The beam has an approximate span of 16′ and, the ceiling joists are 2x10s on 16″s.
My concern is whether there will be enough room to whack the LVL into postion over those two existing walls, or whether the LVL would need to be notched so dramatically to get it in place that it would be weakening the beam too much. I’m also not sure if 3 1/2″ (I’d kind of be shocked) would be enough bearing surface for the point loads created by the LVL, but I suppose that would be for the engineer to determine. Anyway, simply put as anyone installed a long(ish) LVL over the top plates of two exiting walls successfully?
Thanks for any advice…