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Originally Posted On: https://www.houseidea.com/blog/how-to-remove-load-bearing-walls/

 

Renovations are natural calls while living in a house for an extended period. It provides a whole refreshing look to your property and upgrades it according to the requirements of the residents.

While opting for renovation or changes in a house, the most crucial decision is removing a load-bearing wall.

So you want to remove a wall in your Sacramento home, maybe open up a space, bring in more natural light, or merge two rooms. How can you make sure your house doesn’t collapse during the process? Identifying and removing the load-bearing wall is crucial to avoid collapsing the entire house.

Here we will discuss how to remove a load-bearing wall and the significant factors.

Identification of Load-Bearing Wall

The foremost thing is to identify whether the wall you are planning on removing is a partition wall or a load-bearing one. The partition wall is used to divide the house’s space and does not support the roof. In comparison, a load-bearing wall is the one that supports the entire load or the roof by transferring the entire load to the ground.

We need to hire a professional in Sacramento with the required knowledge, experience, and tools to identify the wall. Usually, the house’s external walls fall into the load-bearing category. If your house is a double story, all the external walls will be considered load-bearing.

A load-bearing wall has struts to support the ceiling or joists running perpendicular. Plus, if you witness footing underneath the wall, it is a load-bearing wall.

How to Remove a Load-Bearing Wall?

Removing a load-bearing wall in Sacramento requires the involvement of professionals that have the required experience. If you are thinking about DIYing the project or removing the wall, it might cost you your entire house.

So it is only prudent to hire a professional engineer or contractor in Sacramento that can remove the wall without demolishing the house’s structural integrity.

• Apart from the structural factor, there are multiple aspects that you have to keep in mind, including electrical wiring, water pipes, etc.
• Along with hiring the services of a professional Sacramento engineer or contractor, you need to engage an electrician and a plumber.
• If you need to remove the load-bearing wall on the first floor, then the load must be adjusted to transfer successfully to the ground.
• Although hiring a Sacramento contractor for the demolishing purpose will be more likely to increase the cost aspect of the project, it also offers multiple benefits.
• You can sit back and relax while the professionals handle the job.
• You can save a plethora of time which you have to invest in the case of DIY.
• Professional service providers in Sacramento are well equipped in terms of legal requirements as well so, by hiring a professional, you need not worry about legalities.

Permits Requirements for Removal of Load-Bearing Wall

Various cities demand renovation permits to initiate any renovation project. And if you are thinking about removing a load-bearing wall, you might need a permit for electrical wires and plumbing pipes. To get authentic information regarding renovation permits, you can visit the official website of the Planning or Building department.

Many cities might ask for structural plans, architectural plans, and structural evaluations.

Removing the Load-Bearing Wall

If your property was built before 1990, it might have asbestos. For the safe removal of asbestos and to get the required permit for asbestos removal, you can seek the services of a Sacramento professional.

Brace your building with temporary supports before removing or tearing down the load-bearing wall. You can opt for beams or posts or both to provide the lost support to the house.

With posts, you can support the roof without taking up much space, and it will look more aesthetically appealing. The posts provide phenomenal support to the house after removing eh load-bearing wall with a beam.

Use post in conjunction with beam and have the required support and more open space.

Types of Beams

There are multiple types of beams depending on the material they are made of. Depending on your project requirements, you can use any mentioned beam materials.

Dimensional lumber:

Most commonly used in house frames, dimensional lumber is made of multiple softwoods. You can use dimensional lumber as a beam if you plan to remove a part of your load-bearing wall to create a space, for example, creating a doorway.

Laminated veneer lumber:

The laminated veneer lumber beams are more sturdy and warping resistant than dimensional beams. It is made on a large scale in factories and thus offers uniform sizes. Although laminated limber is more reliable than dimensional, it does not usually cost you as steel beams.

Steel I-beams:

Steel beams are made to provide the ultimate support to your house after removing the load-bearing wall. They are more compact and thus can be used in more restricted spaces. Also, they are ideal for wide spaces where you need to add more support.

Cost of Removing the Load-Bearing Wall in Sacramento?

The cost of load-bearing wall removal varies depending on the size of the project. If you plan to remove the wall from a single-story house, it will cost you around $2,500 to $5,000. But if the house is multiple stories, the cost will automatically rise to $4,500 to $12,000.

For a partition wall, the charges range between $500 to $2,000. But the overall project can cost you more after adding the cost of new drywall, new wallpaper, and paint coating.

Hiring a professional wall removal service provider in Sacramento is prudent to avoid accidents and save a lot of time and effort. If you plan to remove a load-bearing wall for a renovation project in Sacramento, you can simply hire our services for the ultimate convenience.

At HouseIdea, we are a fully equipped, licensed, certified, and experienced team of drafters and engineers who are all prepared to take on any wall-removing project in Sacramento. You can rely on us for exceptional quality service as we have the required experience, equipment, and training.