Basement load bearing wall removal

[jusney]

Good morning to all,

My good friend has two walls in his basement that forms an Lshape that he would like to remove to open up the space. He knows that they are load bearing and will need the proper beams to be put in. One wall is 22' long X 10' high and the other one is 12' long X 10' high. He is well aware of his limitations and has gotten three estimates. The problem is that the estimates vary so widely that he is concerned about the quality of the work or being ripped off. The estimates were, $8000, $5000, and $3000. I told him the I know that there are a few contractors on this board and would get their opinion on what would probably be a good estimate. I know that you will not be able to give him a precise estimate without seeing the job, but he just wants a "ball park" figure.

Thank you for your help.

[jusney]

For some reason I thought there were a few contractors on this board or is it that they don't frequent this lounge? Anyways, still looking for input.

Thank you

[PFCDeitz]

Shoot me your Number. I got a Buddy who can do this.

[jusney]

Sent you PM.

[Rbredding]

Originally Posted by jusney

For some reason I thought there were a few contractors on this board or is it that they don't frequent this lounge? Anyways, still looking for input.

Thank you

to be fair, you only gave us about 3 hours to respond (if you consider that some of us sleep at night)


it's easy to compare contractors... find out from each of them exactly how they plan on removing the wall..
and have them be very specific (we're going to use a triple 2X12 to carry the load of this wall, etc) and have each contractor price the same work, using the same materials...




typically, you won't have two walls inside a house that are load bearing (AND 90* to each other)...

post a picture of the wall/joists that he wants to remove and let us know more information about it..

is he putting a column in at the intersection of the two walls? (if so, it's relatively cheap) is he having to carry the load across the room and replace other floor joists in the process? (if so, $8,000 could be light)

[grouper therapy]

That is impossible to ballpark . those walls could be point load for half the house's roof system One would have to look at the house. What is loaded on those load bearing walls? How many floors? What type of floor system is above? What type of roof ? Is the roof loaded on those walls. Way too many variables to consider. I personally would only use a licensed/ insured contractor. Someone who your friend could hold responsible.

[PFCDeitz]

Originally Posted by grouper therapy

That is impossible to ballpark . those walls could be point load for half the house's roof system One would have to look at the house. What is loaded on those load bearing walls? How many floors? What type of floor system is above? What type of roof ? Is the roof loaded on those walls. Way too many variables to consider. I personally would only use a licensed/ insured contractor. Someone who your friend could hold responsible.

I do agree 100%. I was talking to the guy about this.

[jusney]

Thank you guys for the great advice. I passed this info to him and will let him take care of his own woes.
Thanks.

[Dvara78]

We do a lot of renovations and there are a lot of variables to consider. Removing walls can be costly to repair if done wrong OR if sub-par materials are used.

I've seen many home owners left with sagging walls becuse they either went for the cheapest estimate before doing an apples to apples comparison.

Best bet is to ask, ask and ask again on how they intend to remove the walls, support the load and materials they will be using. Make suer you clearly understand the process. Then compare estimated based on that. Going with the cheapest could always result in a contractor getting his foot in to your home, ripping out walls - then asking for more money to get the job completed.

Youtube has great videos that you can watch to get a sense of how it's done. I don't recommend watching the video and trying yourself, but it will at least give you a baseline of what to expect.

[Rbredding]

and before you pay anyone a dime...

watch at least 4 episodes of Holmes on Homes..


that'll teach you just about everything you need to know as a homeowner.. (and scare the he LL out of you at the same time)