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Design TV shows make it look so easy: Just remove a wall or two and you have the open floor plan you\u2019ve always wanted. But not so fast.<\/p>\n
Tearing down a wall could open up a host of other problems\u2014some structural, if not done properly. It could also prove unexpectedly costly.<\/p>\n
To hire a professional contractor to remove a wall could cost you anywhere from $500 to $4,000, according to HouseLogic.com. To that cost, you\u2019ll likely want to add a structural engineer to design a customized plan for removing the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll then get the peace of mind of knowing that you\u2019re not going to do serious damage to your home,\u201d says Jesse Fowler, president of Tellus Design + Build in Southern California.<\/p>\n
Too often, homeowners looking for a cost-saving move grab a sledge hammer and do a DIY wall teardown. The risks run high that a number of problems can surface if done incorrectly and without proper preparation, such as the home\u2019s ceiling caving in, electrical problems, and even plumbing issues.<\/p>\n
If the homeowner removes a load-bearing wall, \u201cin most cases, the plaster will crack and the ceiling will sag,\u201d says Brian Kelsey, a licensed contractor and host of \u201cKelsey on the House,\u201d a series of online videos. \u201cThe ceiling could cave in right away.\u201d A structural engineer can determine for sure whether the wall is a load-bearing one.<\/p>\n
Further, tearing down a wall may also cause damage to an interior<\/a> wall that contains electrical wiring. \u201cYou might not see electrical outlets on the exterior of the wall, but that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t potential electrical issues beneath the surface,\u201d says J.B. Sassano, president of Mr. Handyman, a national home improvement company based in Ann Arbor, Mich.<\/p>\n And that same wall also may contain plumbing pipes within that, if damaged during the teardown, could even cause your home to flood. \u201cI\u2019ve seen sledgehammers cut right through water pipes,\u201d Kelsey says.<\/p>\n Again, a structural engineer, he says, will be able to advise of any potential plumbing problems before knocking down a wall and whether a plumber should be hired to investigate further before proceeding.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need to relocate a waste line, it\u2019s going to be expensive,\u201d Fowler says.<\/p>\n However, homeowners who want to tear down a wall will find that consulting the right experts will cost them less money in the end than, say, accidentally damaging a water pipe during the removal and opening up bigger issues.<\/p>\n Source: \u201c4 Terrible Tragedies That May Befall You if You Tear Down That Wall,\u201d realtor<\/a>.com\u00ae (April 18, 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2]
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