The time has officially come! Today is the day we remove the wall separating the kitchen and the family room. We have been looking forward to this day ever since we removed the drywall on Day 2. However, if you are lost and don’t even know what house we are working in, head back and meet the Beige bungalow HERE.
To start things off, here is a pic of what the space looks like now:
Before I get into cutting it out, I need to pass along some general information. If you are planning on tearing out walls in your house, make sure they are not load bearing in any way!! THIS IS A MUST. I have heard horror stories of walls being torn out and roofs caving in; don’t be one of these people.
So a couple tips:
- Look for load bearing points. Head to the lowest point in your home below the wall you want to remove. In most cases if your floor joists run in the same direction of your wall, it won’t be load bearing. However, don’t go by this alone. Ask yourself, i) Do I see another wall directly underneath? A beam? Teleposts, or other point loads? If so, consult a professional. Interestingly enough, old homes often built full walls directly underneath the main load bearing beam.
- Head into your attic and check your ceiling joists and roof trusses. Once again, if your roof trusses or ceiling joists run parallel to your wall, you are probably safe. However, make sure you don’t have any point loads from your roof trusses coming down onto the wall. This is more important when working on a home with a cottage style roof (all sides slope up into a point).
There are some awesome videos out there that walk you through determining if a wall is load bearing or not. I have linked a couple of my favourites HERE and HERE. Finally, if this is not something you are comfortable with, please…really please consult a professional. These are simply guidelines to follow. In no way do we assume responsibility for wall removals that wind up looking more like house demolitions.
Anyways- back to our own wall removal at the beige bungalow. Check it, and our curious pup out below:
Finally, we are dealing with a wide open cohesive space.
It really is that easy if you aren’t dealing with a load bearing wall. A load bearing wall is a far different story. Either way, ensure you have a professional look over your project prior to going crazy with a hammer 😉
Stay tuned, or join the community if you havn’t already. This house is a fun one and we don’t want you to miss out!
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