​The interior of an existing home can be altered by removing walls between rooms. This can make the home more open-plan, it can let more natural light into areas which were previously dark, it can make the home more modern, it can make spaces more usable, it may eliminate passages and incorporate the space into enlarged living areas, indeed removing internal walls has many advantages and can radically alter homes, making them feel more spacious, light filled, modern, and more liveable.

But before starting your home renovation project and getting a hammer out and smashing down some interior walls there are some important points you should consider to avoid unnecessary costs and surprises and to ensure there are no accidents.

It seems so simple – cut out an existing wall to make a room larger, or to create open plan living areas, but usually timber and tile floors have been laid around the existing wall. Moving the wall exposes a bare piece of floor. Patching the timber or tile often results in colour differences (assuming the product is still available).
Case study: in our house we undertook renovations in the main bedroom. This involved moving a few walls slightly and the timber floor had to be patched in a couple of places. Firstly we had to find the exact same timber for the patches. Then the complete bedroom floor had to be sanded and sealed. But the timber floor continued from the bedroom out the door through the whole upper level floor. The newly sanded and treated floor was always going to have a different colour from the original floor which had aged in the sun and with use. We eventually had to sand and seal all the existing timber floor upstairs to achieve a uniform coloured floor – about one hundred square metres (a thousand square feet) because one square metre (ten square feet) had to be patched!

There are other issues you should consider which could add to your costs. These include:

• Is the wall load bearing, supporting the structure (roof or 2nd floor) above? (See my article last week: Before removing walls or adding new windows and doors check your house will not fall down )
• Are there pipes or electrical wiring in the wall which have to be accommodated elsewhere? These need to be isolated, made safe and then relocated as necessary.
• Will the floor levels on the two sides of the wall be the same? If the floors have been constructed separately it’s feasible that they aren’t perfectly level and even though they are the same level at a connecting doorway they might be different elsewhere. Even a level variance of five millimetres (a fifth of an inch) can be a problem when you try join the floors after the wall is gone.
• Will the ceilings be at the same height between the adjoining rooms? Ceilings may not be exactly level across the room and you may find that the ceilings don’t perfectly line-up. Even a five millimetre difference (fifth of an inch) may result in you having to redo the ceiling in one of the rooms.
• Will the floor finishes match? Replacing carpets may be simple, but tiles involve more work. Even when the floor tiles match at a connecting door between the rooms they may not match further along when the wall is removed. It’s possible that the tile pattern in one room isn’t perfectly square, or the joints between tiles are fractionally larger. This may result in tile patterns mismatching further from the door when the wall is removed.
• Will the walls at right angles to the wall that’s removed line-up between the adjoining rooms? Sometimes one wall could be slightly out of square or a few millimetres thicker, which could mean that once the wall is removed the adjoining walls don’t join perfectly flat. You can manage this transition by including a small nib where the wall you removed joined the other walls.
• Usually lights have to be changed so they are controlled by one common switch. Lights mounted in the ceiling may have to be relocated so they are placed evenly and symmetrically across the enlarged room. This may entail minor repairs to the ceiling.
• Ducted air-conditioning may have to be modified so there is one control for the room. The ducts feeding the two rooms could have to be combined to take account of the new enlarged room.

There are definite benefits to removing, or even just moving internal walls. However, you don't want to have an unpleasant surprise when the costs go over your renovation budget. Careful planning will ensure that you don't cause unnecessary damage to your home, have accidents during the renovation, that you make appropriate choices to limit additional costs, and that you include all the extra costs into your budget. Some of these costs could include making good ceilings, moving electrical switches, changing light positions, redoing the floor to match, repainting the rooms and more.

​Being prepared will make your home renovation a success. 

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.
© 2020 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

​People planning to renovate their homes often want to chop out internal walls to change the size of rooms and the configuration and layout of the house. Unfortunately, some of these walls may be holding up the roof or the floor above, so removing them can cause the roof or upper floor to sag, or worse even collapse. In some cases it’s possible to put in extra permanent supporting structures for the roof or upper floor, but these should be designed by and engineer and installed before demolition work starts.

Even cutting additional doors and windows, or enlarging the existing windows can weaken load bearing walls. Additional beams may have to be installed to transfer the loads over the openings. The remaining portion of the walls must be checked to ensure that they’re able to carry the additional loads from above.

All buildings are supported by some form of foundation. The detail of the foundation will depend on the ground on which the structure is built, as well as the load that the foundation must carry. If the building is on rock the foundations may be light, while buildings on weak ground will have more substantial foundations, even including reinforcing steel. It may appear easy to demolish an internal wall and rebuild it a few centimetres (inches) away, but if the new wall isn’t constructed on a foundation and only on the existing concrete slab there’ll be problems if the concrete slab has insufficient strength to support the new wall. The concrete slab could crack and the wall settle and crack. This is unsightly and can be dangerous. 

Sometimes foundations aren’t only there to support the structure but they also must hold the house down. For instance, houses made of lightweight materials in an area prone to hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones need be firmly anchored to the ground.

Get an engineer or an expert builder to check your existing foundations and roof before removing walls, knocking holes in existing walls for additional doors and windows, or before building new walls on top of existing floors. Always take care that you are not weakening the existing structure of your house. This could be dangerous and result in additional costs to repair parts of the house that are damaged when the existing structure is weakened and moves.

See what happened to this house when contractors were working in the basement. The whole house collapsed bringing the neighbours house down as well.

Thinking of renovating your home? Before you start consider if there are restrictions which could limit or hinder your plans.
These restrictions may include:

• Physical restrictions which include:
  • The location of sewer pipes which might be in the way of a planned extension. The location (including vertical alignment) could impact where new bathrooms, laundries and kitchens can be added and even the position of new toilets, bathtubs and sinks.
  • The layout of the current house. You need the new extension to tie into the existing house's layout, or you may have to modify the existing layout to accommodate the new extension, but this will add to the costs. You also don't want the new extension to block windows and natural light in your existing rooms.
  • The structural integrity of the existing building. You don't want to remove a wall or column and cause the roof to collapse. Equally you don't want to embark on an expensive internal renovation if the structure of the roof is failing and in danger of collapse.
  • The design of the existing roof. Modifying an existing roof is often costly and can result in leaks and colour and material differences. Extending an existing house is cheaper and easier if it can be done without altering, or tying into the existing roof.
  • The materials incorporated in the existing building. Can you match them or will you have to redo areas of the house you weren't intending to renovate to match the new finishes and fittings in the renovated areas - adding additional costs you have not budgeted for.
  • The topography of the property. Sloping sites require level areas to be created for the extension, which require ground excavations or filling with earth. You might have to incorporate steps to go from the old existing portions of the house to the new extension.
  • The foundations under the existing walls. These foundations may prohibit, or make it problematic, to add another floor or storey, or could make it difficult to relocate internal walls.
  • The location of the current building on the property. Is there space for the planned extension?
  • The current architectural design of the house. The alterations, changes and additions should generally match the existing architectural style of the house, or the existing style (interiors and exteriors) need to be modified so there’s a coherent design flow. For instance, adding a modern cutting edge extension to a Victorian existing design in most cases will result in a mismatched poorly coordinated design. So matching a modern extension with an existing vintage house could require extensive modification of the existing fixtures, fittings and finishes (at additional costs) to maintain continuity. Having said this though, clever architects have managed the transitions with sympathy and good effect.
• Local or council bylaws and estate rules which could dictate the distance that the new building can be from the property boundary, the location and size of windows overlooking your neighbours, the height of the building and sometimes even the architectural features of the house. (Much of this I discuss in my other book, but needless to say it’s important that you familiarise yourself with all these rules, or at least engage a design professional who understands the various rules and requirements.)
• Heritage listing – some older houses are heritage listed houses which limits what can be done on the exterior of the house, and in some cases, depending on the type of listing, could even restrict what can be done internally. Heritage listed properties can be very expensive to change.
• Neighbours’ objections.
• Access for construction. Can the builder get the materials to where they are needed? What equipment is required and can it get to the construction area?
• The requirement to continue living in the house. How will this impact the construction if you require water and power to be available during construction? What about dust, security, noise, etc?
• Your budget. Can you afford the changes and renovations you want? Many a renovation has come unstuck and left half completed when money has run out.

​​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.
© 2020 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

It’s important that all insurances are in place before starting home renovations or remoddelling work, and before starting construction of a new house. You don't want something to happen to your home before construction is complete, such as a fire, theft or damage from storms, only to find that you are uninsured. So it's imperative to check that existing policies won’t be adversely affected by the work.  For instance, work in existing buildings may impact the security of the facility, or expose the property to the risk of damage from the weather or from flooding. You should discuss the work with insurance providers to ensure that the policy is not made void. Additional cover may have to be purchased to cover any shortfalls. Alternatively, the insurer may require mitigating measures to be installed, such as extra security, more firefighting equipment and so on.

​Depending on the contractual terms and conditions some insurances will be the responsibility of you and some the responsibility of the contractor. Most insurances are renewed annually so it’s good practice to have a schedule of all insurances so that action can be taken timeously before they fall due. In addition, when project conditions change, the contract value changes, or the project time-line is extended it will be necessary to advise the insurer, and in some cases additional insurance may have to be taken out. Failure to notify the insurer of changes could negate the policy.

Insurance that needs to be considered includes:

• Insurance of the project to cover for damage and theft on the project.
• Worker’s compensation insurance purchased by the contractor to cover injury of their workers on the project. You don’t want to be paying their medical bills or have no hospital willing to treat an injured person on your project because they have no medical insurance.
• Construction equipment insurance.
• Third party liability insurance, which protects you from claims or lawsuits from third parties for damages caused by the construction work. For instance, damage to a neighbouring property or injury to a member of the public.
• Design indemnity insurance which should be provided by designers and contractors who have a design component in their contract. This protects you from additional costs incurred as a result of a design fault.

​Insurances provided by the contractor must be checked to ensure that they’re valid, that they’re of sufficient value and there aren’t clauses or conditions which are unacceptable or can’t be fulfilled.
It should be noted that insurance claims may be voided if:

• You were found to be negligent – such as failing to take suitable safety or security precautions.
• Construction equipment was operated by an individual who didn’t have the required license, someone who was intoxicated, or a person who wasn’t trained to use the item.
• Equipment was used which was obviously faulty.
• The insurance provider wasn’t provided all the details of the project, or the value or methods changed from what they were provided.
• The policy has lapsed or premiums haven’t been paid.

​Like all insurance policies it pays to read the terms and conditions to ensure that the policy is suitable, that it will cover all the expected risks and it won’t be rendered null and void. When unsure, expert advice should be got from the insurance broker and other experts. Always get all questions answered in writing. In some instances certain events may require additional insurance, such as for flood or storm damage. 

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.
© 2020 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.