Cost to assess wall and hopefully expand view/'window' space between kitchen & living room

3/8/2019 at 2:37:09 PM

Hi Sheri,

Chances are this shelf is only supporting your Nick Nacks. If you look closely at the corners around your opening and if you see cracks or evidence of where a crack may have been repaired, then chances are this was expanded after the fact. Get a proper Engineering report done. Cost between $600 and $1,000. They will tell you exactly what is required and where the main loads are coming down from your roof. Once you have your report in hand, come back to TrustedPros to get a few Estimates on doing the work.

Good luck

3/8/2019 at 3:00:55 PM

Likely to be a bearing wall which can be confirmed by looking in the attic to see if the roof is stick framed vs trusses.

To widen the opening you'll need to replace the existing beam with an LVL beam which can be calculated by the material supplier using an 'engineered' program.

It will also be necessary to deal with the transfer of loads to the structure below which will also require a degree of engineering if the floor beam is being point-loaded.

With a structural modification you'll require a building permit. Your municipality will double check your proposed modifications which will require sufficient detail about the existing structure that they can be assured the proposed solution meets Code.

Another respondent can answer your pricing questions (there's lots of 'what ifs').

3/9/2019 at 2:50:05 PM

This wall it seems a load bearing wall and to widen this one you need an engineer advice on how you can proceed and what size of beams you should use. Average engineer cost to visit and provide a stamped report is $750