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Question DetailsAsked on 9/12/2017

How do i put opening in a shear wall

I have 7' x 8' shear wall, i want to put 35" x 37" opening.
How will i do that without compromising the purpose of shear wall?

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1 Answer


If a true shear wall, you need a Structural Engineer to design alterations so it can still carry the shear loads with the opening - generally requires opening up the wall (removing drywall) and either cutting-in diagonal structural bracing, or covering the wall (one or both sides depending on loads) with structural plywood then drywall over that - thickening your wall up to an inch or inch and a half in the process.

Then (because drywall and painting work would most likely be needed as well as the structrual changes), a Remodeling - General Contractor would be tyhe normal Search the List category for a contractor to do the actual work.

If a load-bearing wall but NOT a shear wall (shear walls are pretty rare in normal houses unless really open floorplan, in California quake country, in hurricane country, or multi-unit or over 3 story building), still need a Structural Engineer to design the load-transfer element(s) to accomodate the opening, but a lot simpler to do. You can find a LOT of previous quesrtions with answers about removing/cutting through load bearing walls by putting the search words Load Bearing into the Ask box above - it will suggest a half dozen or so links on the subject, and they will generally have more related links in the answers or if logged in, listed below them.

Answered 1 year ago by LCD

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