House Planning: When You Want to Open a Space

8 Sep

House Planning: When You Want to Open a Space

If you live in a home that is a series of small rooms, you may believe that it would be great to open up the space by mixing two small rooms into one. However, what if the wall breaking them is structural?

Great news: That structural wall can be eliminated and you can open up your house exactly the way you desire. You will have to replace the load bearing (structural ability) of the wall, therefore consult a local architect before you get started to make sure that the work is done properly and in accordance with construction code. Here is a little background that will help you start the conversation.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

This kitchen was once two chambers. The wall that ran down the centre awakened the space, which makes it feel choppy and small. A new beam was set up above the ceiling so the final space would be just one big, open room.

Bud Dietrich

The wall that separated the kitchen from the family room and dining room was also eliminated. In this case, a steel beam has been set up above the ceiling line as the span (unsupported length) is quite long.

AMI Designs

If the beam can not be concealed, utilize it to make a statement, as in this room.

Bud Dietrich

Here’s a simplified sketch of a bearing wall that supports a structural load like a roof and second floor and transmits this load into the ground through a foundation system. Removing a wall such as this requires you to know how much load is being supported over how much distance. This advice can be decided by an architect via an examination of the present problems.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

The cheapest approach to removing the wall is to put in an engineered wood beam below the present floor joists. A contractor would build a temporary support wall on each side of the present bearing wall, remove the wall, put in the wood beam and eliminate the temporary walls.

Your architect may discover you’ll need to use a steel rather than wood beam as a result of length of wall eliminated and the amount of weight to be supported. Though a steel beam is typically more expensive than wood, there are situations when it’s the most viable alternative.

In this instance, the beam stays beneath the joists and will be under the ceiling line. The beam will then be visible in the final room and will affect the aesthetic and visual qualities of the room.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Another approach is to hide the beam inside the floor joists therefore it is not visible when the room is completed. In this case, the present floor joists are cut away to provide space to the new beam. This approach will be more expensive due to the excess labour needed to trim the floor joists. Again, don’t attempt this without help from a certified architect or architect to assess the possibilities and design a solution that is suitable for your house.

More: The New, Smaller Great Room

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