Load-bearing wall removal.
Taking out a load-bearing wall is an engineering job with a demolition inside it. The engineer sizes the beam, the posts and the footings under them; the crew shores the floor above, cuts the wall, sets the steel or the LVL and lands it on new footings. Savino Construction does all of it with its own people and puts the drawing in the permit.
Photo · Desire Basements projectOn the drawing.
A site walk that identifies which walls carry load and what sits above them
Engineered drawings with the beam, posts and footings sized
Building permit filed and followed by us
Temporary shoring on both sides of the wall, floor protection and dust walls
Wall out, beam set, posts landed on new footings, floors levelled
Drywall, flooring and finishes patched or replaced so the wall was never there
Drivers, not figures.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Span and load | A long opening under two floors needs a bigger beam and posts on new footings. |
| Flush or dropped beam | A beam hidden in the ceiling costs more than one below it, and the joists above decide whether it is possible. |
| Footings | Posts need something to land on, and that can mean new footings through the basement slab. |
| What is in the wall | Ducts, plumbing and wiring that have to move before the wall can go. |
| Finishes | Matching an old hardwood floor across the opening, or refinishing the whole room. |
No price per wall on this site. The engineer's drawing sets the number.
Paper first.
- A building permit with engineered drawings is required in every GTA municipality for any wall that carries load.
- The inspector sees the beam and the posts before they are closed in.
- Ducts, plumbing and wiring moved out of the wall are permitted and inspected with their own trades.
The paperwork wall: WSIB, insurance, licences, the HCRA status and the warranty, on one page and dated.
Walls that run perpendicular to the floor joists, sit over a beam in the basement, or stack under a wall above usually carry load. We tell you at the site walk, and the engineer confirms it in the drawings.
Often. A flush beam sits between the joists and the joists hang from it, so the ceiling stays flat. It costs more than a dropped beam and depends on what is above. The drawings show both.
For a load-bearing wall, yes, in every GTA municipality, with an engineer's drawing. For a partition wall carrying nothing, usually no. We tell you which at the site walk.
The wall itself comes out and the beam goes in within days once the permit is issued and the footings are ready. The finishes around it take longer. The schedule goes into the contract.