What is the best way to begin demolishing a wall?
Question:I only want to demolish the upper half of the wall. It is not a bearing wall; it is an interior wall separating my kitchen and family room which I want to open up to brng in more light and openness. thank you for any helpful tips. I have to do most of this myself as I can't afford to hire a contractor. The backsplash and counter are 40 year old tiles and it has two cabinets, built in place.
Answers:
There is such a thing as an interior load bearing wall. Any wall that runs perpendicular to your ceiling joists is load bearing. You might want to take a look in your attic before you start tearing the wall apart. If it is a load bearing wall, you will need to install a header to transfer the wieight. You can cover it with a soffit if you like.
Once you have all your lines drawn as to where you want the hole AND all the power is off, you can rip the sheetrock/paneling off the one side with a hammer/crowbar. That way you'll be able to see any wires...etc. before you tear into the tile. If you have an angle grinder, that works best for cutting through tile on a wall. You can pick a cheap one up for about $25. Use a diamond coated blade (about $8).
Once you have your hole, you can square it up and frame it out the same way you would trim out a window. I'd put a wide wood sill on the 1/2 wall you've now created and trim out both sides with window casing. If you want to do the whole thing with just drywall and have nice clean edges with no casing, use corner beads all around so you'll get a nice sharp and straight edge.
Good luck with your project, don't forget to check your ceiling joists first! If they are running parallel to the wall it's not load bearing.
knock out a line of bricks at the top
remove the cabinets first, then measure how much of s square you want to cut.i suggest using a saw with a carbide blade,and also use 2by 3 wood as a guide to keep the saw straight.remember to measure how deepyou have to cut the tiles and sheetrock, you dont want to cut any eletrical wires behind the wall. then you can cut the 2by 4 in accordance to yuor measurements,measure twice cut once.
You DID ask, "to begin demolishing a wall" didn't you.
The very first thing you do is to turn OFF any electrical power to wall sockets, switches and wiring that may run up to ceiling lighting or fans.
Doing any of the other things mentioned here is NOT the first thing you do.
Tack a sharp razor blade knife and score the drywall at the height you want the finished wall to be. Score it deep as possible.
Then using a hammer punch holes in the drywall especially along the new edge carefully and remove the pieces of drywall.
Now take a sawzall and cut through the studs at the bottom of the opening. Then work the stud back and forth to remove them from the ceiling. Be careful if there are any electrical wires in the wall. Cut the header board the studs were nailed in and remove it.
Replace the header board with drywall and finish a good board across the top of the lower wall to give a finished look and stain this board or paint it. Now you have a nice aarea that will let more light in.
If there is power and plumbing in this wall, which is very likely, that will be the hard part. Relocating plumbing vents can be daunting. Power work but not particularly difficult. If I were you I would start by buy two books. The Black and Decker Complete Guides to Home Plumbing and their Guide to Home Electrical Work. They will fill you in on the basics and help you be sure the results will be safe and compliant. Demolition of the wall should start will breaking into the drywall with a hammer to find out what is in there. Don't use a sledge, and just hammer the drywall enough to remove pieces by pulling them off and see what is behind it without damaging it. Cut off studs or plates with a reciprocating saw with a long demolition blade after you know you are not cutting wires and pipes.
The very first thing should be to turn off the power!!
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