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Home Remodeling

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merrijoy

Shiny_Rock
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Sep 8, 2006
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The subject should actually be rearchitecturing. Has anyone removed an interior wall in their home or maybe put in arches and /or pillars? We bought a 2400 sq ft house back in Feb and it has a living room (sunken) and a family separated by a wall. We really don''t use the living room so it is a wast of ~300 sq ft.....anyway, anyone done the above? Any thoughts on this? Pictures?
Thanks!
 
I have not but I have a few tips for you as an Interior Designer:

1. Check to make sure the wall in question is not load bearing. If it is, there are ways around it like putting pillars etc. Is that why you would put them up or would they be decorative?
2. Honour the architecture. If you own a mid century ranch, arches and ionic columns don''t mix.
3. Don''t make the room too large, it will feel never feel cozy again.
4. Think about re purposing the room: perhaps a library or a study depending on the location of the room.
 
As Hera said, you need to know whether the wall is load bearing. If it is, you''d have to replace the support the wall gives with something else, like posts or a beam or something similar. You''d also want to know what''s inside the wall. Is it just electrical (outlets, switches, etc.) or is there something else inside the wall like plumbing or ductwork? It''s important to know what''s there because you''ll have to move it if you tear down the wall. Electrical can be fairly easy and relatively cheap. Plumbing is a different matter.
 
Well, I''m in the UK so the rules might be different, but there are likely to be some consents that you''ll need. Here, you need building warrant before you start and a completion certificate when you finish. Of course, it''s inside so no one will likely know, but it will be next to impossible to sell the house without these and if you have a loan secured on the house, it would probably breach the terms. Houses can be repossessed over this, not just over payment defaults, because it is usually a material breach to the terms of the mortgage.

Sorry, that sounded a little alarmist, but it can be a real headache down the line if you don''t get the right consents. Check out what you need to do in your area before you start the project.
 
Our house is an English Tudor built in 1934. The rooms were all tiny so we knocked out two walls to create a large kitchen/dining space and are so happy with the results. My uncle is an architect so we had him come and check everything up and draw out plans. Even though neither wall was load bearing we put beams in for extra support and did add an arch in one area. If you're not using the space as is, I would really consider changing it in some way. Oh, and my Dh did most of the work himself and we had our new kitchen in less than 6 weeks! Good luck!!
 
Going to try and post a before/after photo of our little reno....we''ll see if it works!

kitchenb4after.jpg
 
Wow, Burk, that kitchen is gorgeous and classy!
4.gif
 
lilyfoot~Thanks so much! We are very pleased with the way it turned out!
 
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