After about 3 weeks of holding in place the temporary header has been replaced. I am talking about the one between the kitchen and dining room. The old one wasn't high enough and was not holding anything up. The header is made of two 2 x 8's glued and screwed, and up tight to the floor joist, with two 2 x 6 posts on either end. The opening is 77 inches wide and 94 inches high. About the same width as before but a bit higher.
New header and posts in place with the old ones still holding the load. The center 2 x 4 in the picture was used to hold it in place while we measured and cut the support posts.
Everything in place and all temporary supports out. There is still a little bow in joist that I couldn't get out and didn't want to push our luck. After all it probably took 100 years to get it there in the first place. Besides, ReBecca still wants some of the old charm and character of the house to show, and I agree.
