I have a ranch house that has an old breezeway converted into a dining room. In between the dining room and the entrance hallway are the stairs leading to the finished basement. I want to remove the two walls, exposing the stairs for more of an open concept look. Unfortunately the one wall is the old exterior of the house, which is made from concrete blocks. This is obviously a load bearing wall so I’ll need an I beam to span the new opening and this is definitely not an area I want to DIY.
From what I’m reading, I may need an architect or engineer also, so if anyone has any suggestions there, I’d appreciate that as well.
My brother is a licensed architect that does small side projects. You’d have to call him to discuss the project to see what he thinks/costs/etc. He knows engineers as well, so it may be a win-win there… as he may already know a decent guy that you can work with.
Give him a call after 5:30PM @ 310-6113. His name is Mike. Tell him that Jeff referred you from NYSpeed.
EDIT: I spoke with my brother about what you’re trying to accomplish, to make sure he was available. He said “I’d be glad to help. Have him call me tonight.”