[Lynn]

Before we started on the frame, I spent a good 4 hours tuck pointing that vertical wall. I would not be able to get to that mortar once the framing was up.

Next, I had to figure out how to get two 18 foot 16x2 LVLs up there. First, I put screwed a 2x8 to the bottom of the old header (well, as much as I could… that header did not extend all the way across; it came up short on the West end.

We were able to set the LVLs on top of the scissor lift, get them hoisted all the way up, then put jacks underneath to push them up tight. I secured them temporarily with some 10 inch timber screws from above, along with a few steel straps just to be sure they wouldn’t fall.

After securing a 2x6 on the bottom of the LVLs, I quickly used three floor jacks with temporary posts to get the header up really tight. We then started building the king studs on the sill plates. Four 2x8s is for sure over kill, but why not?

After the door way was framed out, I removed the temporary wall. Here it is framed up. Now I could take measurements and order the door.

You can see that the two outside vertical studs don’t to under the LVLs. The one on the left goes up to an existing steel beam. The one on the right goes up to the wood beam that is under the steel beam. I didn’t want to attempt taking that beam down, so made the decision that a 10 foot high door was good enough for me.

At the other end, in the storage area, I still have a 12 foot tall door, just in case I want something really tall in there.