# opening a shear wall



## tgd61 (Jul 23, 2006)

Hope I can get some advice. I have a one story home in Sacramento, CA built in 2000. I am wanting to make an opening of 8' high and 8' wide in the wall between the garage and an adjacent bedroom to enlarge the shop area of my garage. The wall is 20' long and 10' high. The wall separating the garage and the adjoining bedroom/living area is sheathed and obviously a shear wall. the home has a cememt slab foundation. Does making this size of opening jeaporadize the structrual integrity of the house?

If so, being a shear wall are there any special consderations, in this type of situation, I need to address?

Not withstanding my construction and DIYer skills, is this something that should be evaluated by a structural engineer?

Thanks is advance for any advice!
Tony


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## Square Eye (Jul 23, 2006)

You definitely need someone else to look at it. Someone with at least a good strong understanding of construction principles. The wall you are talking about is more than likely a load bearing wall. The opening would have to have a header and adequate support under the ends of the header.

Without seeing it, we really can't be specific about what you need.


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## inspectorD (Jul 24, 2006)

Yes you would need a Structural engineer to evaluate your options. 

The shear wall is for earthquakes, any altering will definitely contribute to a collapse if you have the big one.


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## tgd61 (Jul 25, 2006)

OK, sorta what I thought. Thanks for the feedback!


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## inspectorD (Jul 26, 2006)

We try to help the best we can..

If you are looking for a California engineer, try www.seaint.org and surf from there. I don't know which part of Cali you are in and they are all state specific. 

Good luck on your project and keep us in the loop.


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