The demo continues this week at the Fixer Upper. If you missed it, last week we removed the popcorn ceilings, and the week before we ripped out all of the carpets. This week we’re removing this wall dividing the kitchen and living room to create a large open space that will be perfect for entertaining.
I’m envisioning a large kitchen island with bar seating on two sides to make the best use of the space. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we need to see if we can take out this wall!
A word of caution…Any time you remove a wall, you need to first determine if it is load bearing. I’m not going to go into detail about how you determine this because I am not an engineer or a contractor and I don’t want to mislead you. However, there are some ways to figure it out yourself. It usually means getting up into the attic and the crawl space or basement to see which way the floor joists are running and what kind of roof system you have, common ones being rafters or trusses. But like I said, you can do your own research and make your own decisions. My best advice is to consult a professional to make this determination before busting out your sledgehammer.
We consulted a few friends who are contractors and they all gave us the same directives. What we determined (with help) is that this wall IS in fact load bearing and it would be possible to remove it by reinforcing it above with a large header, adding some sister studs on either side, as well as pouring concrete footings underneath the floor and continuing the studs all the way down. We DID hire a contractor to help us with the new beam and concrete footings. We did all the demo ourselves and assisted the GC installing the glulam (beam).
Another thing to consider before moving walls around is electrical. This wall had light switches, outlets and a thermostat that would have to be relocated. Again, my advice is to hire a professional electrician to do this. My philosophy is if it can cause your roof to collapse, flood your house, or burn it down, hire a professional! Basically I don’t mess with load-bearing walls, plumbing or electrical without help from people who know what they’re doing. Not to mention pulling the necessary permits for these types of things.
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Alright! Let’s tear down this wall! First, you’ll want to remove the outlet covers, switch plates and then the drywall. This is really easy, you just need to be careful not to cut into any wiring that is behind the walls. To remove drywall, first score the sections you want to remove with a utility knife. That way when you tear out the pieces, it doesn’t rip the paper off the drywall that you are not removing. If you can remove full sheets of drywall, this is best, if not, try to cut the drywall in the middle of studs where you can easily reattach new drywall. You can find the studs with a stud finder and mark them out on the walls with pieces of tape. Next, use a multitool with a drywall blade to cut through the drywall. If you’re taking out pieces of drywall where they are attached, you can use the stud finder or a magnet to find the screws and back them out with a drill. Sometimes it’s easier to just rip the drywall off and take the screws out later.
After removing the wall and exposing the wires, we were able to pull the wires up into the attic so they could be rerun to their new locations when we were ready for that step. We did have an electrician friend do the rewiring for us as neither of us have experience doing this and like I mentioned before, mistakes can be deadly. (More on the electrical situation, or more accurately, the SNAFU, next week.)
At this stage, the wall was down to the studs and we were ready for the glulam (basically wood laminated together to make a really strong, thick beam). The GC custom ordered the glulam for us and you pay per foot. It only cost a few hundred dollars for the glulam, the expensive part is having someone install it! Labor is often more costly than the materials which is why we try to DIY as much as possible!
We also had to cut holes in the subfloor on either side of the new opening so that the GC could access underneath to pour the concrete footers. We built false walls to hold up the ceiling on either side while we took out the rest of the wall studs and installed the glulam above.
After the beam was up and the studs on either side reinforced and the footings underneath in place, we could then take out the false walls. That’s it! The wall is out and we now have a nice, wide open space! It feels so much better already!
Next week we’ll tackle the kitchen floors and start prepping the drywall for paint! Be sure to subscribe below so you don’t miss any of this renovation!
Until next time,
Happy DIY-ing!
-Selene Builds Things
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