Im installing an in wall storage behind a sliding mirror. Here's what I found.
I'm gonna take a stab at it and say this is a load bearing wall...

Take a measurement to the nearest exterior wall. Get into the attic and measure again from that approximate location of the same wall. Note how far your ceiling joists are spaning and if the roof load is held up by that wall.

Huh? Lol.

This is on the 1st story. 2nd story sits on top of this wall. After opening up the wall, I used a stud finder, and have determined that the entire downstairs is 16" centers. If this is or isn't a load bearing wall, how bad of an idea would it be to remove these studs?

Open that drywall a little wider, then 'reframe' the opening you need like a door/window,
with both a jack stud and king stud on both sides, with a double 2x8 or 2x10 or 2x12 header across top.

Have fun with the electrical, unless your opening doesn't need to go all the way to the bottom.

Good chance there is a beam over those two studs together.

I have the ability to do that. Just not sure if I have the desire.

You could always take a bottle jack and a spare 2x4, and jack up on the current header to loosen that double-stud to see how much weight it’s bearing. I bet that spare 2x4 will bow before you fully loosen that double stud.

Update. I decided to move forward with the project...




Still gotta sand, re-texture, paint, and hang the mirror.

Is that notch for a rifle barrel?

You got this, no worries.

I wouldn’t remove the triple

It looks like they used finger jointed studs when they built your home. Our builder uses them on all of their homes. Only on the vertical framing though. I though it was inferior and cheaper material until I did a little research and discovered it is actually more expensive. They are great for tall walls because they are very straight.

It is for a magnet that will hold a rifle barrel, yes.

Too late! I only partially removed it, and did frame out support. To code? Probably not.

Did you use mesh tape on your joints? Can't tell for sure but I don't really see it. Also, would highly recommend skimming out at least 12" or 14" past your joints. Can't tell if that's splatter or knockdown but I would skim just as much for either. Oh, and prime your patch before spraying texture.

Some of those patches were kinda rough. I filled them with mud, let dry, and I'm going to sand and tape (paper tape cause that's what I have). I'll take more pics of final.

Those pictures are the case against diy. I’d bet a hundred that thing sags.

I would highly recommend fibatape mesh tape. Mesh is your friend on patches. Home depot sells it. It adds a lot of structure and strength to the joint. Also, it's significantly easier to hide and float out, compared to paper tape. They make an ultra thin version that's even easier to hide, also available at HD for a couple bucks. There's a reason that it's typical to coat 28" wide joints (two 14" coats) when paper taping and finishing to level 4, especially butt joints. You've got to hide that thick paper tape and float it out far enough to not make it look like a hump.

I'll take that bet.

Looks good, Hope the new "header" is enough (probably should be doubled and installed wide side facing out).

You can add this to the list of reasons I don't like buying used.... anything lol.

Some of you have taken great exception to my carpentry skills...and that is fair. But I'm happy with the way it turned out...

Looks good to me.

Looks good, is the top pistol a Hi-Power?