This is a perfect topic. I'm in the midst of doing this right now.
Heres what Im up against

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...727/scan-1.jpg

I'm removing the wall in question. The joists that span over it are
2x5's I think. They run 10 feet and sit on top of the wall in
question, then continue on another foot and are face nailed to a 2X5
joist running from an inside load bearing wall to the back wall. I
cut the sheetrock from under that joist and slipped in a joist hangar
on each joist. Then i went up and installed two 2x12's that also sit
on the middle load wall and span over to the back wall. I then
nailed and screwed the original 2x5 joist to the sistered 2x12. Do
you think this will be enough support? The 2x12 witht he 2x5 nailed
to it span 11 feet. When I ripped the plaster off the wall to expose
the studs, I noticed that all the studs were pretty loose. I figured
if there was a big weight load on them, then would they not be under
compression? I can see the nail shanks on some of them coming through
the top plate.