You’ve decided to make the leap from renovating to full-on home renovation projects. You’re ready to remove interior walls and start with a raw space that you can transform into your dream living space. This endeavor will be a momentous occasion, won’t it?
Not so fast. Like anything else that involves construction, there’s a lot of planning that goes into removing interior walls. It’s not a quick Tuesday afternoon project.
The Load-Bearing Capacity of the Wall
A load-bearing wall supports the weight of your home’s upper floors and roof. So, if you remove it without proper support, your home could collapse. You can usually tell if a wall is a load-bearing by its placement in the home.
You can also have a structural engineer or contractor assess the wall to be sure. Once you know the wall is load-bearing, you need to determine if it’s possible to do load bearing wall removal with no damage.
If you’re not sure you’re up for the task or fear the risks, it might be better to leave the wall in place.
Electrical Lines
Before removing any interior wall in your home, one of the important renovation tips is to consider what’s behind that wall, especially if they are electrical lines.
You will need to determine whether or not the electrical lines can be rerouted before removing the wall. If they can’t be, then you will need to leave the wall in place. If the lines can be rerouted, you will need to have an electrician reroute those lines before proceeding to tear down the wall.
Plumbing and Pipes
You don’t want to accidentally create a leak or mess with the piping in your home. Once you’ve confirmed that the wall you want to remove won’t affect the plumbing, you can proceed with your remodeling project, which might need a professional.
First, you’ll need to check with your municipality to see if there are any permits or requirements you need to take care of before doing any work.
Once you have the all-clear, you’ll need to locate all the plumbing and pipes that run through the wall you’re planning on removing. This may mean having to cut through some of the drywall to access the pipes.
Cost of Removal
Consult with a contractor to get an estimate for the cost of removal. Once you know how much it will cost, you can compare that to the potential savings on your energy bill by removing the wall. If the wall is load-bearing, you’ll also need to factor in the cost of installing a support beam.
Once you have a better understanding of what’s involved, you can make an informed decision about whether or not removing the wall is the right choice for you.
Strategic Renovation Projects
If you’ve decided that you want to start renovation projects which involve wall removals, then these are the few things you need to consider carefully. Home renovation can be a fun idea, but it has to always be strategic.
Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you can start planning your home remodeling project today!
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