Taking out a wall between the kitchen and the living room is one of the most common remodels in the country, and one of the most common reasons a permit gets refused. If the wall carries load, the inspector wants a beam designed by an engineer, the posts and footings that carry that beam to the ground, and a seal on the drawing.
Is the wall load bearing?
Send photos and we will tell you, at no charge, before you commit to anything. The signs an engineer looks for:
- The wall runs perpendicular to the floor or ceiling joists above it
- Joists lap or bear on the top plate rather than running past it
- There is a wall, a post or a beam in the same position on the floor below, or a footing under it in the crawl space or basement
- It sits near the middle of the span of the house, or under a point load from a roof ridge or a girder truss
- The wall is doubled up, or has a double top plate where interior partitions nearby do not
Interior partitions that run parallel to joists, with nothing below and nothing bearing above, usually are not structural, but a partition can still be carrying a point load you cannot see from the room. That is what the review is for.
What the engineering package includes
- Beam design: LVL, glulam, steel, flitch or dimensional lumber, sized for the real tributary load
- Post and column design at each end, carried continuously down to bearing
- Footing design or verification where the new load lands on a slab, pier or existing footing
- Temporary shoring guidance so the structure is supported while the wall comes out
- Connection details: hangers, straps, bearing plates and fasteners
- Flush beam detailing where you want a clean ceiling with no dropped header
- Structural calculations and a sealed, signed drawing for your permit
- Answers to plan review comments and revisions until approval
What we need from you
- Photos of the wall from both sides, plus the ceiling above and the space below if accessible
- The wall length and the room dimensions on both sides
- Joist direction, size and spacing if you can see them, and the span
- Number of storeys above the wall, and what the roof structure does over it
- The project address for the correct code and load criteria
Turnaround and price
A single wall removal with a beam, posts and footing details is typically back in 48 to 72 hours as one fixed fee, quoted before any work begins. Multiple walls, two-storey loads and whole-floor openings are quoted to scope with a firm delivery date.
Common questions
Can I remove the wall without a permit?
Almost every jurisdiction requires a permit to alter structure, and selling the house later tends to surface unpermitted structural work. The engineering is a small fraction of the remodel cost and it is what keeps the permit, the insurance and the eventual sale clean.
Can the beam be hidden in the ceiling?
Usually yes. A flush beam sitting within the joist depth, with hangers at each joist, keeps a flat ceiling. It costs a little more in material and labour and we will show both options with the span and depth each one needs.
Do you need to come to the house?
No. Photos and dimensions are enough for residential work, which is what keeps the fee low and the turnaround short.
What if the wall turns out not to be load bearing?
Then we tell you that, and many jurisdictions will accept a short engineer’s letter confirming it instead of a full design, which is far cheaper. We will not sell you a beam you do not need.
Next step
Send photos of the wall through the quote form. A licensed structural engineer tells you whether it is load bearing and what the design will cost, usually within the hour.