Exterior wall beam.

[Harford]

I am interested in adding a addition, to my two story cape cod. The addition would be, on the side of the house, with a 40 foot dormer, in the 44-foot long home. The home is a modular 27-1/2 feet wide. My plan is to build a 20-foot wide X 7-foot deep addition. It would add the much needed space to the kitchen and dinning room. I plan to build a lean-to-roof over it. My thoughts are to put a parallel beam 20.5 feet long ,on the outside wall to carry the 1-floor and roof above with cripple supports on the ends.. I would like to maintain the 8-foot ceiling height. I should have plenty of room ,on the outside wall, above the opening, to tie into all the major framing members for the second floor. However I have never seen this done ?
Would not matter if it needed to be steel. Has anyone ever seen something similar done ?

[Harford]

2x6 wall frame and 2x10 floor joist. I would think I could use lag bolts from the inside through the end joist into a I or glulam beam ?

[jimAKAblue]

Hello, new member Harford.

and welcome.

Be prepared to endure a scolding if you are not a professional. My advice: tell everyone you are an electrician and that you are planning this addition but intend to hire it out. That way, everyone will tolerate your questions if you sound like you don't know what you are talking about.

As for your proposed design. It sounds like you are on the right track. A sketch or pic would be helpful. You need something like this designed on software (or pencil and paper) such as Chief Architect or Sketchup.

PM me.

[Dick Hackbarth]

You need to show a floor plan of the house, and a full height wall section of that exterior wall, in detail, footing to roof. I would need to see these to know how the loads come into that exterior wall, and also how you might incorporate the new beam into the wall at about the second floor level. Sounds like your new beam will carry the existing second floor and the roof, plus the new roof. Then you need to know something about the soil and existing foundation conditions, because you will be concentrating all of that wall load on the existing found. at the ends of the new beam. And, the existing found. was not likely designed for that type of concentrated loading. While your addition might be 20' wide, can you get a post or two in that length and still provide the openings you need? Maybe a post at the corner of a kitchen island, or some such. That improves the beam span conditions and the way you take the loads down to the foundation. Then you also have to pay attention to the new foundation and how you tie that into the existing.