P-01 Kenwood, Minneapolis
The Kenwood house
The owners loved the lake and couldn’t see it. The 1920s floor plan split the main level into five small rooms held up by three bearing walls. We replaced those walls with two steel beams hidden in the ceiling and turned the floor into one room with glass along the whole lake side.
- Scope
- Whole-house remodel
- Floor area
- 5,400 sq ft, three levels
- Clear span
- 42′-0″
- Duration
- 26 weeks
One beam instead of three walls
The new beams sit inside the floor structure rather than below it, so the ceiling stays flat from the front door to the lake. The engineer’s limit for deflection across the span was a quarter of an inch; we measured an eighth.
Before and after
Drag the line, or use the arrow keys, to compare.
Left: the 1920s plan with three bearing walls. Right: the same floor after the steel went in.
How the steel went in
1
Shore and support
Temporary walls went in on both floors and four helical piers were driven to firm soil before any load came off the old walls.
2 weeks
2
Set the steel
Two W18 beams were lifted in through a temporary opening in the second floor and set into new pockets in the end walls.
1 week
3
Remove the walls
With the beams carrying the floor above, the three bearing walls came out and the ceiling was closed flat, with no dropped soffit.
3 weeks
Finish schedule
Scroll the table sideways for the finishes.
| Mark | Item | Material | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-1 | Floors | 8″ rift-sawn white oak | Matte finish |
| S-1 | Island | Honed marble, single 13′ slab | Sealed |
| C-1 | Cabinets | Ebonised ash, built in our shop | Oil finish |
| G-1 | Glass | Triple-pane sliding doors to the terrace | Low-iron |
