Open floor plans help light flow throughout your home. They can blur the boundaries between inside about out, effectively extending the livable square footage of your house. And, they can create communal areas where you and your loved ones naturally congregate.
However, older homes with traditional layouts typically have clearly defined rooms. This means walls separate the kitchen from the dining room and the dining room from the living room.
With such a dated layout how can you achieve an open floor plan? Which walls can you actually remove during a remodel?
Any Wall Can Be Removed If Done Correctly
One of the major concerns when removing a wall is whether or not the wall is load-bearing. If a load-bearing wall is simple knocked down, this can put your home’s structural integrity at risk.
However, load-bearing walls can be removed if done so correctly. The key is to make sure you maintain the support the wall was providing. Often this can be accomplished by replacing the wall with support beams. This approach allows you to connect two rooms with a relatively small visual barrier.
Even Walls Containing Plumbing and Electrical Can Be Removed
Walls are often used to house pipes and electrical lines. Removing walls that contain these items can be a complicated process, as the pipes and electrical lines will need to be re-routed through another area of the home.
It’s Easiest to Remove Walls During a Whole Home Remodel
Doing smaller remodeling projects over time can sometimes seem easier. For instance, you might consider doing the kitchen one year, the master bath another, and your TV room after that.
While any remodeling project can bring value to your house and lifestyle, a whole home remodel gives you the ability to truly achieve your goals. Why? Because it allows you to consider how one space flows into the next. And, it gives you more options. This is especially true in the case of removing walls.
Moving pipes and wiring when your house is already torn apart is easier and more cost effective. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to reorient your home’s layout. Want the kitchen sink in a different spot to capitalize on a view? You can do that. Interested in moving the entire kitchen to the other side of the house? During a whole home remodel that can be done too.
Let’s talk about the goals for your whole home remodel and how we’re going to achieve them