Pacoima Structural Work for an Open Family Room
Where do the posts go? Beams, posts and footings engineered for Pacoima houses opening a plan or adding a floor, with permits handled through LADBS.
Anyone planning an open family room will want to know where the posts are going to stand, and the first visit to a Pacoima house is the right moment to ask. The honest answer comes from the layout above and the footings below. A post must land on solid support, so its position depends on what the new floor or roof will carry and where that load can safely go down.
Posts and the plan of the room
Placing a post is a negotiation between the engineer and the way the room gets used. Pushing it into a corner or a built-in keeps the open floor open. Where the span is long, a post may have to stand in the room itself, and then its position is chosen around the table, the sofa and the path from kitchen to door. We mark candidate spots with tape on the floor so everyone can walk around them before anything is drawn. The beam size follows from the final choice, so a small move can turn a deep beam into a shallow one.
What the answer depends on
Three things set the options: the load above, the span, and the support below. A flat ceiling with nothing overhead needs a lighter beam than a bedroom floor does. The ground matters too, since each post bears on a footing that may need to be widened or newly poured. Once the engineer has numbers for all three, the choices narrow to a few real ones, each with a different look. A beam can sit flush with the ceiling, hang below it, or be a steel frame with slim posts at each end.
Structural Work in Pacoima: what families ask
It depends on what sits under the walls and how the roof is tied to them. Our engineer looks at the footings, the ground-floor framing and the connections that carry weight to the earth, then states what must be added. Sometimes new support at a few points is enough.
Plan for an engineered beam, posts and footings, a permit, and temporary support while the old wall is cut out. Wiring, ducts or pipes inside the wall have to be rerouted first. After the beam is set and inspected, the ceiling and floor are patched where the wall stood.
Plan review and field inspection both belong to LADBS. Its inspector wants the beam, posts and connections to match the drawings before drywall goes up, and any mismatch is corrected while it is still easy to reach.
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Tell us about the house and the space you need. We reply by phone or email to plan a visit.