Has your kitchen started to feel claustrophobic? Is your dining room unnecessarily blocked off? If the answer to both these questions is a resounding yes, you may want to try the open-home concept for size. Knocking down the wall between your kitchen and dining room can free up a ton of space around your home.
Things to Consider While Removing a Wall between Kitchen and Dining Room
But before you dial your contractor to embark on this bold remodeling project, there are some crucial things to consider. In this post, we’ll walk you through each one in detail.
Let’s dive in!
1. The Wall May Be Load-Bearing
Generally speaking, there are two types of walls: load-bearing and partition. Load-bearing walls carry the weight of a home. They protect the building’s structural integrity, making sure it does not come crumbling down.
Partition walls, on the other hand, are non-load bearing and used to divide a space into different rooms.
Although both walls can be taken out, load-bearing wall removals require special attention. Because they’re critical to the home’s structure, you cannot whack them at random. Removing them without a replacement support system could lead to disastrous consequences.
Ideally, you should hire load-bearing wall removal specialists like us to remove your load-bearing wall. Not only do we have the experience and skills for the job, we also know what types of support systems work best for different homes.
Most Utah homes have a load-bearing wall between their kitchens and dining spaces. If you want it removed, call Load Bearing Pros today!
2. You Can Remove Part of a Load-Bearing Wall
So, you’re ready to remove the wall between your kitchen and dining room, but still want to preserve some of it for privacy’s sake. After all, it’s tough to control clutter in an open kitchen. Unless you’re careful, the mess will be out for your guests to see.
Some homeowners are also apprehensive about losing potential storage space when they knock down an entire load-bearing wall. By removing a part of it, you can still save some space to install a china cabinet or two.
The good news is that it’s possible to remove part of a load-bearing wall, provided you shift the loads above the opening. Bear in mind that you’ll need a properly sized replacement beam for this.
3. There Are Several Perks to Removing the Wall
Combining the kitchen and dining room into a seamless space might be one of the smartest interior décor decisions you make. Here’s why.
- It Creates an Open Space
- The Room Feels Brighter
- Boost vitamin D
- Keep seasonal depression at bay
- Improve sleep quality
- It Improves Functionality
An open concept helps improve the overall flow of your house. Too many walls can make your layout feel choppy and disjointed. But with an open concept, each room blends into the other.
Also, open kitchens/dining spaces make cooking meals and gathering around the table far more sociable. Imagine having a fun conversation with your family while you whip up delicious meals in the kitchen. It’s a win-win!
One of the biggest perks of knocking a kitchen and diner together is it allows more natural light into the room. Aesthetics aside, this is good for your health. Studies show that natural light can:
With the walls out of the way, you can finally ditch the fluorescent bulbs and soak in the goodness of natural light.
Crossing between a kitchen and dining room can quickly become a pain on a busy day. Add more traffic to the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster. The last thing you want is to deal with an overcrowded kitchen when trying to prepare a meal.
Removing a wall between the kitchen and dining room can make a world of difference in this regard. It’s easier for everyone to move in and out of both rooms without bumping into each other.
4. There May be Pipes and Wires inside the Wall
In some cases, the wall you want to remove may include wires, plumbing, or cables. This makes the project a little more complicated. Usually, you’ll require help from an HVAC technician or electrician.
But don’t worry, we’ll do everything for you. Load Bearing Pros has several subcontractors on speed dial, so we can bring one of our friends in to handle the problem. You won’t have to move a muscle!
Sometimes, pipes and cables aren’t the only things hiding in your walls. You may also have a concealed mold infestation or unhealthy amounts of asbestos stowed inside these structures. Whatever the case, it’s never a good idea to tackle them on your own. We’ll talk to the right people and make sure the wall is taken out safely.
5. The Wall May be Coated with Lead Paint
Ever since the dangers of lead-based paint were made public, people have moved away from it. However, there was a time when lead-based paint was used widely. According to the EPA, homes built before 1978 are likely to have lead paint.
When you demolish a home with lead-painted walls, you risk releasing lead particles into the air. This may lead to critical health issues, including:
- Abdominal pain
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Memory loss
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Irritability
Exposure to high levels may cause weakness, kidney/brain damage, and even death.
Given these hidden dangers, it’s advisable to let load-bearing wall removal specialists handle these projects instead of going the DIY route.
6. You May Have to Redo Your Walls and Ceiling
You’ll want to consider what happens to the floor and ceiling once you knock down the wall. For example, hardwood and popcorn ceilings can be difficult to patch up. You may need to scrape and refinish them altogether.
To save yourself the time and effort of fixing your home twice, we suggest you schedule the load-bearing wall removal only when you have enough resources to redo the floors and ceiling.
7. You’ll Need a Permit for Structural Wall Removals
Since load-bearing wall removals constitute a structural change, you might need a city permit to go ahead with them. It’s best if you sort this out well in advance. Your local building services should be able to tell you everything you need to know.
In this regard, you may be wondering if Load Bearing Pros can obtain the permit for you. Unfortunately, we cannot. Here’s why.
- Chasing building permits gets in the way of our work, which is removing load-bearing walls.
- We don’t want to charge you for permits you may not need. However, if we add it to our service list, we’ll need to factor the extra costs into our final quote. That’s why we avoid it altogether.
8. The Number of Stories Will Impact the Project
Whether you live in a home with one or two stories will influence the removal in a big way. Taking down walls in a two-story house may exert pressure on the remaining support structures. If done incorrectly, this can have far-reaching consequences.
You’ll need a structural engineer to assess the situation and determine the best course of action for the project. In fact, you should always consult an expert before swinging a hammer at your walls.
The Bottom Line
The trend of removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room has been on the rise for years – and with good reason! Not only does it free up additional room in your home, it also creates an aesthetically pleasing, modern space. So, if you’ve been on the fence about removing a pesky load-bearing wall, we suggest you go for it! Hopefully, this post has offered some insight into what you must keep in mind.
Load-bearing wall removals are best left to specialists. At Load Bearing Pros, we’re the go-to for Utah homes. We’ll remove the wall between your kitchen and dining room in no time. What’s more, we will clean up after ourselves! For more information, call us at (385) 300-8322 or complete our online form for a free bid.
