We are considering building an additional floor and right now I'm thinking about the ridge beam and the load that must be carried by the first floor. The reason for a ridge beam is, of course, the ceiling height and the possibility of having floor space all the way out to the outer wall (even if it becomes very low there). But currently, on one gable of the house, there is an "overhang" over the foundation wall. The wall that is supposed to bear the load doesn't have direct support underneath it, see picture. The column load will be about 2.5 tons at that end. Is the overhang a problem or can you just place a post on the wall plate, or would it work if you distribute the load with many posts by letting the ridge beam rest on a horizontal beam lower down? The wall is a regular stud wall built around the '90s.
