Load Bearing Wall Question

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jkspup22

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I live in Massachusetts and just recently bought a house. There is a wall in between my kitchen and my living room and I would like to open up a portion of the wall. The wall is load bearing. Im guessing the wall is around 10 or 11 feet long and I am looking to take out roughly 5 feet of it. I am a very handy person and would have no issue doing the job myself but I am struggling as to what is considered code in Massachusetts for framing up an opening like I mentioned. I have framed doors before and have no issues creating a header and so forth, I just dont know what the paticulars are to ensure it passes inspection.

Can anyone help me with this?
 
People will be reluctant to give advice for stuff like this. It hard to do as every situation is different.

First off, code - Around here every little town is different. To know for sure any code issues you will need to contact your local code enforcement.

The rest of my comments are very general and may or may not apply to your situation.

When opening up a wall that is load bearing you will need a header and posts to carry the weight of whats above that was previously supported by the wall.
You may have other things that can be a challenge as well.
- matching up the floors
- re-routing of electrical
- re-routing of ducts
- re-routing of pipes

Lots can be involved or it can be relatively simple. Often the hardest part is fixing up the floors in the new space between the two rooms. This is easy if you are going to re-do one or both of the floors.
 
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