Load-bearing wall removal in York (Toronto)
Lots leave no room to go sideways, so the work goes up, down or inside, and deliveries come from the street. The floor above is shored on both sides, the wall comes out behind dust walls, the beam is set and landed on new footings, and the finishes are patched so the wall was never there. 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, and the crew shores the floor, cuts the wall and lands the steel.
York (Toronto), on the ground.
York is 1910s to 1940s brick semis and small detached houses on narrow lots in Weston, Mount Dennis, Oakwood and Fairbank, many on block or rubble foundations. In those houses in York, the wall between the kitchen and the dining room is the one that usually comes out, and it usually carries the floor above. In York the brief is usually a second storey, a lowered basement for a legal suite, or a whole-home renovation that turns four small rooms into one plan.
Read more about building in York (Toronto) or the full load-bearing wall removal page.
On 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
Paper first.
A load-bearing wall needs a building permit with an engineer's drawing, and the inspector sees the beam and posts before they are closed in. Toronto Building issues the permit, and older foundations here mean the site walk includes a test pit before a second floor is drawn.
- 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.
| 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.
For a load-bearing wall, yes, from the City of Toronto (Toronto Building), with an engineer's drawing. For a partition wall carrying nothing, usually no. We tell you which at the site walk.
Often. A flush beam sits between the joists so the ceiling stays flat. It costs more than a dropped beam, and what is above decides whether it is possible.
The City of Toronto, through Toronto Building. The former borough has had no separate office since 1998.
Toronto allows a second unit in most houses. The usual obstacle is ceiling height, which underpinning fixes by lowering the floor. We measure at the site walk and tell you whether the basement can meet code as it stands.