Load Bearing Wall Removal

You may want to remove a bearing wall…or at least, you think that it’s a bearing wall. Don’t assume that just because the wall studs seem a bit loose, or because the joists above the wall are continuous across the top of the wall, that the wall is not “load-bearing”. We often find that older homes were constructed with continuous joists across the width of the house, yet the floor joist relies upon the extra support that it gets from the wall and supporting floor joists below. Remember, even if the floor above does not fall down after you remove a wall, you may be creating an over-spanned floor condition which is potentially unsafe!

We can usually determine whether or not a wall is load-bearing by carrying out an on-site review. Sometimes, we will need access to the attic space or may need to cut a small hole into the ceiling to determine the size and direction of floor framing or roof system.  In some circumstances, we can make conservative (safe) assumptions without having your Contractor cut any holes, however these assumptions need to be verified by the Contractor during construction.

Most jobs like this involve one site visit, and about 3 days of our work in the office to draw-up a partial plan and specify the necessary beams and posts. Design costs for these types of projects vary depending upon the number of beams required and the complexity involved in transferring loads from the end of new beams down to the foundations below.