Cost of Removing Load Bearing Wall

Hi, I was hoping someone could give me a rough idea of what a contractor would charge for a job like this.

The wall is 11 - 1/2 feet, between the dining room and kitchen. The house, built in 1955, has no basement, or second story, and is only

975 sq ft.. Since the kitchen and dining room are fairly small, this would really open up the house and improve the floor plan, imho.

I'm fairly sure the wall is load bearing. Not only do the joists run perpendicular, but the joists 'meet' directly above the wall. There is no plumbing in the wall, and the only wiring is a light switch for the kitchen light.

While the house is structurally sound, it needs a fair amount of updating. I can do a lot of the work myself, but wouldn't even _think_ about touching this!

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Reply to
g
Loading thread data ...

Is it on slab, or crawlspace. What is the maximum you would want the beam to intrude down. The beam used to support the ceilings and any supports above ? will have to have a secure footing - foundation , to hold the load. The ceilings on both sides of the wall must be supported through the operation [ damage may occur] with jacks and beams. Can the floor handle it ? Accurate hight and level measurements must be done throughout the operation, and before and checked later, 1mo . Simple job , no not if done right, Get an engineer- architect out and plan well. Cost ? But if done wrong it will cost alot more to fix a mess. Pay to do it right, it looks simple thinking about it , but there is alot involved.

Reply to
m Ransley

I had this done just last month. Removed wall, rebuilt with posts and header (3- 2x10 with 2-1/2" plywood sheets sandwiched together). Additional bracing was required in the floor joists as per architect's drawings. Shoring walls were required on either side of the wall until the header was inserted. Whole job done in less than 2 days. Price is more difficult to come up with because I had some drywalling done (which took 3 days with taping and sanding coats). I imagine that about $1500 (Canadian) should cover it.

Reply to
edee em

if it is a dirt crawlspace you may need a pier- foundation poured for the supports. As edee said 1500 could do it or 1100 or 2000 + US get a few estimates.

Reply to
m Ransley

Except depending on load calculations, you may need a doubled 2x10 or

2x12, on a standard 8' ceiling it may be no big deal, lower ceiling and taller people wouldn't fare as well.

On a crawl space you may need piers poured to support the end of the beam, increaing costs, especially if the floor has to be opened.

Call an architecht or engineer and ask for a quote on doing the engineering, as well as a recommendation of a contractor.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Cochran

The key to not ruining your present ceiling or unleveling it is to measure exactly at 5 or 6 marked refrence points, marked on floor and ceiling , as refrence measuring points , points on each side of the wall, apx 2=A0 feet apart. points taken seriously for reference. Exact floor to ceiling hight needs to be measured and recorded. Which needs 2 people to measure. These points are to monitor Any Sagging of ceiling, so adjustment to support jacks are made Very quickly to avoid damage . Before the permant jacks are sealed in I reccomend additional height checking. Commercial Jacks shold be used to hold your steel or wood beam. Commercial load are cheap and at HD. Steel will protrude down the least giving you the best view, a true consideration since View is why you are doing this.

Reply to
m Ransley

Jeff , if the ceiling wall , supported the load before , It will now, no New supports or ceiling tearout, just a MAIN beam

Reply to
m Ransley

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.