Remove Interior Walls

Be very careful about knocking down walls inside your home, otherwise you could cause the ceiling or roof to collapse! You may also have to relocate plumbing, electrical, gas and ventilation. Think hard if you really need to remove a wall...ask yourself if there any pass-through or new doorway would solve the issue. It's much easier to build a pass-through or doorway than tear down a wall. Do you (or your friends) have some expertise in relocating wiring, plumbing, ventilation, etc. if it's needed?

Steps

  1. First, determine if the wall you want to remove is a load bearing wall, meaning it supports the floor above. Go into your basement (or crawlspace) and look at the alignment of floor joists. These are large pieces of lumber going across the house from side to side supporting the floor/roof and are generally 16" apart. Remember the alignment - they generally go from side to side on most modern homes across the width of the house.
  2. If the wall you want to remove is at a right angle to the floor joists - STOP. This is a structural load bearing wall and can't be removed without doing major damage to your home. Inspect the floor space above it for signs that it supports the joists, or an upstairs wall. Look in the attic too, to see if any of the roof framework rests on it. If it's imperative that this wall comes down, you'll have to hire a contractor. They will call in a structural engineer to advise what has to be done to make the house structurally safe if the wall is removed. (Generally a steel beam is required to carry the load from the upper floor/roof to the side walls.)
  3. Look at the wall for electrical outlets, switches, etc. Even if there are none present there still might be wiring, plumbing, ventilation, etc. inside the wall. Go downstairs (or to the basement) and see where the wiring, plumbing, venting, etc. enter the main floor. If they go into the wall you want to demolish, they'll have to be relocated before the wall can be completely removed. In this case, all you can do is remove the drywall to expose the studs and the utilities in the wall. You'll have to wait until they're relocated to proceed.
  4. Since demolition will bring up a lot of dust and debris, empty as much from the rooms as possible and cover any doors with plastic sheets to contain dust. Cover any vents to prevent dust from being blown around or sucked into your furnace/air conditioner. Put drop sheets on the floor to protect them from debris.
  5. If you are relatively sure the wall is void of any obstructions, don't smash into the wall with your foot or a sledgehammer. Take a regular hammer and smash a small hole in the wall at about shoulder height.
  6. Wearing work gloves, grab onto the edge of the smashed drywall and pull off. Once you have an area large enough to stick in your head, grab a flashlight and look around. If there are no other obstructions in this area, you can knock the rest of the drywall out on both sides with a sledgehammer (or your foot if you're wearing work boots). Continue knocking out the remaining sheets of drywall as above, making a small exploratory hole before demolishing the rest of the wall.
  7. Once all the drywall has been removed, you can start to remove the wall studs. Take a reciprocating saw and saw into the 2 X 4 upright studs. Grab the ends and pull out as much as possible. Making sure the reciprocating saw is fitted with blades that can cut through nails, run the saw along floor and wall plates where the upright studs are attached to cut through the nails. Have someone hold the stud while you cut through the nails.
  8. After all the wall studs are removed, you can remove the floor plate. Using a wrecking bar, pull the floor plate up from the subfloor. Do the same with the ceiling plate; have someone hold the plate while you detach it with the wrecking bar. Pull out any pieces of nails that remain in the subfloor and ceiling with a pair of pliers.
  9. Once all the debris is removed, you'll have to patch the ceiling where the wall was removed with a strip of drywall and patch the floor with a new piece of flooring.
  10. On the ceiling, measure the width of the hole created by removal of the wall. Place thin strips of wood across the newly created hole at 12 to 16" intervals. (2 X 2s or 1 X 2s work fine). Holding them in place across the gap, place a screw though the existing ceiling on each side to secure them to the ceiling. This will be the new anchor to attach the drywall strip.
  11. The drywall should be cut almost as wide as the new opening (tape and mud will cover any gaps). Place the drywall on the ceiling and attach to the wood strips with drywall screws.
  12. Mud the edge of the new drywall and the existing ceiling with drywall compound ('mud"). Push paper drywall tape into the wet mud and smooth down with a trowel. Add another layer of mud on top of the tape and smooth out. You can also cover the screws with a coat of mud to cover.
  13. Allow the mud to dry (check the box/container for drying time required) and sand the drywall mud.
  14. Add another layer of mud, using a wider trowel to taper the edges. Allow to dry as above and re -sand.
  15. You may need to do the above steps several times to obtain an almost seamless match between the patch and the existing ceiling. Each time, you should use a wider trowel to obtain an almost invisible joint.
  16. Once you are satisfied with the patch, you can add a coat of drywall primer/sealer and repaint the patch to match the existing ceiling. If the ceiling hasn't being painted in some time, you might need to repaint the entire ceiling so the new section doesn't highly contrast with the old section.
  17. Depending on the type of flooring, you will need to add a patch to the carpeting, tile or hardwood from the adjoining rooms.



Tips

  • You should also wear protective clothing and a dust mask to prevent inhalation.
  • Try to have as many people as possible to assist you in demolition. A fair amount of debris will need to be removed from the room after the wall is taken down, and some tasks require 2 people to be done safely.
  • Power and hand tools needed can be obtained from a rental store - saws, sledgehammers, etc.

Warnings

  • If you find wiring, gas lines, plumbing vents, etc in the wall you will need to stop until they're relocated. Using power tools near gas lines, live power lines and explosive sewer gases is dangerous.

Things You'll Need

  • Work gloves
  • Work boots
  • Eye protection
  • Nose/mouth breathing mask
  • Wrecking bar(s)
  • Sledgehammer
  • Reciprocating saw
  • Drywall
  • Drywall compound ("mud")
  • Drywall tape (paper or mesh)
  • Trowel of various widths
  • 2 X 2 or 1 X 2 lumber
  • Flooring (to match existing)

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