Improving Structural Support

The second floor is not supported well by the first floor. Before sending this plan in for approval, this must be addressed. Click the Down One Floor

and Up One Floor

buttons while the Reference Display

is on to see how the walls on each floor line up.

The southern wall of floor two should have the dining room wall directly below it, which can serve as a bearing wall. We could also add an interior wall to the staircase to serve as a bearing wall. The span between the two will require a floor beam.

The entire western wall of the second floor is supported by an exterior wall below.

The northern wall of the second floor needs help. We can move the closet wall directly below it, but we'll also need to add a couple floor beams to help carry the load.

The eastern wall of the second floor needs a floor beam to span between the exterior walls. Also, the first floor wall is not in alignment with the second story wall above.

To create bearing walls

Draw a Straight Interior Wall

beside the stairwell on floor one, making sure to align it with the second story wall above. If the Dining Room wall is not in alignment with the second story wall above, open it for specification and on the General tab, check Align with Above and click OK.

Select the closet wall in the master bedroom and align it with the second story wall above.

Select the wall that divides the Nook from the Deck and open it for specification. On the General tab, check Align with Above and click OK.

To add floor beams

Select Build> Framing> Floor/Ceiling Beam

In the master bedroom, click and drag to draw a floor beam that overlaps the exterior wall and the interior closet wall.

Once drawn, the floor beam can be selected and moved. See "Editing Box-Based Objects".

You may need to Zoom

in to make sure the floor beam is centered below the second story wall above. If the snapping behaviors prevent accurate positioning, you can hold down the Ctrl key to bypass them.

Draw three more floor beams to provide support for our second story; one over the deck, one between the kitchen and the nook, and another in the living room.

The floor beams we've added can remain exposed, or they could be drywalled and finished. In the Master Bedroom, we'll lower the ceiling to cover the beam.`