I am removing a wall in our house (scary I know). The house is timber and weatherboard from the early 20s, so about 95 years old. The wall is definitely not supporting any of the ceiling or roof structure. In the drawing below, the wall I am removing is labelled A.
Attachment 451805
The ceiling level is different in the sunroom and lounge room and there is a 100mm step down in the floor level as well. I have checked in the roof space and there is a very large hardwood beam over the line marked B which is supporting the rafters and ceiling structure. There are no struts running back from the rafters onto Wall A. There were also no piers under this area, although I have added some extra support to remove excessive bounce from the floor.
I have carefully removed most of the wall and what I have found confirms that the wall is not supporting anything above. So what I need is a lintel across the top of the space to support roughly 1m of plaster wall that will remain above it. The distance is 3220mm and the existing wall frame is 100mm hardwood. I have been looking at span tables, but can't find anything to correspond to this situation.
Would 140 x 45 hardwood be enough, or does it need to be bigger. How about two 140 x 45s bolted together?
Any advice would be appreciated.
(Have tried to get four local builders to quote - one too busy, two never show up and one doesn't answer his phone).
Thanks - Bruce