Planning to change the interior layout of your home?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. What to consider before demolishing internal walls in your renovation projectIt 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:
Understand what your home renovation plan entailsThere 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. Learn more about renovating and building housesPaul 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.
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Demolishing internal walls generally means knocking them down so that the space inside the house is open and one large room instead of several small ones. Although removing a wall can certainly open up a space and make it more livable, it is important to be aware of the potential risks involved in doing so. First and foremost, it is important to ensure that the wall in question is not load-bearing, as removing it could cause the roof or floor to collapse. Thanks for sharing your blog.
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AuthorI’m a construction professional, author of several successful construction management books, and a home owner. I’ve made mistakes in construction management, I’ve seen others make mistakes, but importantly I’ve had multiple successful construction projects and I’ve learned from the mistakes. I want to share these lessons and my knowledge with you. Also available from:
Amazon Au, Amazon DE, Amazon ES, Amazon CA, Amazon IT, Amazon FR, Amazon NL, Amazon India and 'An Introduction to Building Houses - Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'
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