How To Remove A Non Bearing Wall

Removing a Non-Load Bearing Wall

In this first part of this series I want to cover the simplest situation for opening up a room, and that is removing a non-load bearing wall. Before beginning, Tucker Construction recommends that any home or building owner purchase construction drawings from a registered designer or engineer, and apply for the required building permit in your Province or State.

Identify The Use of the Wall

Before you start cutting your wall in half, you need to identify the use for the wall in your home. You need to know if it is used for supporting the floor, ceiling, or roof above. Good ways to check are by looking at the levels above and below the wall. If the floor/ceiling joists run parallel with the wall; it is likely not bearing any load. Or if you check the basement and see no beam or wall beneath the one you want to remove; again it likely is not bearing any load. This step is best covered by having someone with structural knowledge examine your home.

Open the Wall

The wall is identified as a non-load bearing wall, this means you can simply remove it without any concern of other sections of the home falling down. First step is to see what is in the wall to avoid dangerous situations; such as cutting electrical wiring, plumbing or ducting. Start by cutting the drywall or plaster around the wall, make the line as clean as possible so that the drywall patching is less complex. Once the drywall is cut, now you can start ripping it off. You may want to may shallow cuts across the wall so that the drywall is in smaller sections and remove more easily.

Remove the Guts

All that should remain of your wall now is studs and the guts (wiring, plumbing, duct). If you're a homeowner, the next step is simple. Hire a professional to remove each of these integral pieces to your home. The reason is to make sure it is completed safely and with consideration to how your home operates. Even professionals do this. Ex. If you have a cold air return in your wall, you will want that to remain in a location that benefits the heating and cooling of the home. Hopefully you will have identified the potential items in the wall and have consulted with a professional on where they should be moved to.

Remove the Studs

Now that the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing have been taken care of; remove the framing. Start by knocking out each of the studs and moving them away from the work area. Then remove the top plate from the ceiling and bottom plate from the floor. Make sure all nails are removed and the surfaces are clean and smooth.

Now What?

Now you're ready to patch your ceiling and floor. Hopefully you took some serious consideration into both of these steps. Patching a ceiling can be done but the finish of the job varies greatly depending on whether you're going from a textured ceiling to a smooth, or if it's plaster. And floor patching usually doesn't look very good, unless you can continue the flooring from one room into another, or best practice is to remove the whole floor and lay a new one across your wide open surface.

There are many more aspects to removing a wall that are not taken into consideration here, but these are the common issues we face in wall removal, and something homeowners rarely consider when planning their renovations.

If you have questions about your renovation project, or just want to learn more about removing walls from your home, shoot us an email here, or post your question on our Facebook wall.

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