9 Crucial Things to Know Before You Knock Down a Wall

There are lots of reasons to knock down a wall. You might be changing up your floor plan a bit. You might have decided you want an open layout. You might even be tempted by the visceral thrill of smashing something with a sledgehammer - creative destruction can be a beautiful thing.

We don’t want to stop you from disintegrating a wall with sheer physical force - that’s a joy we wouldn’t deprive anyone of. We do, however, want to help you stay as safe as possible. With that in mind, here are 9 things to keep in mind before you reduce the wall to rubble:

What’s in the wall?

My mama always said life is like a wall - you never know what you’re going to find inside. My mama is an interesting lady.

The point is, there are lots of things you might find inside your wall. Things you’d rather not slam a hammer through. Things like pipes carrying water under high pressure, or live wires. Either of those things are bad to smash on their own, but put them together and you’ve got a real problem on your hands.

If you don’t know what’s inside your wall, don’t risk hitting it with a hammer. Ask a contractor for help.

What’s on the wall?

Of all the dangers of DIY demolition, knocking down a load-bearing wall might be one of the scariest. 

Why? Because people might think they know what walls are load-bearing, and get it wrong. The results can be catastrophic - your home could literally start collapsing on top of you!

If you’re not 100% sure that a wall is load-bearing, get a contractor to help identify whether or not it is. Even if you think you’re 100% sure, it can’t hurt to get a second opinion - you really don’t want to knock a load-bearing wall down.

Should the wall you’re looking to knock down turn out to be load-bearing, call a professional to take it down for you. Taking out a load-bearing wall is not a DIY job.

What is permitted?

Before you start any home improvement project - even knocking down a wall - you should talk to your local government about what permits you might need.

We can’t give blanket advice on whether or not you’ll need a permit - the laws are different in each city. We can only recommend that you play it safe, and call before you demolish anything.

What’s your budget?

Knocking down a wall implies some level of renovation. You’re going to need to budget appropriately. Do you want new furniture? Do you need to change your flooring? These are all things you should think about before taking that first swing.

Even if all you want to do is knock down the wall and clean up afterwards, you’re going to have to invest some resources. If there’s any plumbing or electrical in it, you’re going to have to reroute it. Unless you know how to do everything yourself, you’ll need to hire someone to help. 

Budget twice, sledge once.

There’s no going back

Okay, that’s a bit of a dramatic exaggeration. You can go back, but it will involve rebuilding a wall that you just tore down. And we’re sure you’ve got better things to do.

Don’t tear down that wall unless you’re absolutely sure you want it gone.

Things are about to get messy

There’s going to be a lot of dust and debris - hopefully, that comes as no surprise. Move furniture out of the way, and cover everything within a wide radius with plastic sheets.
You may need a dumpster to take care of all that debris - check out this guide to dumpster rentals if you want to know more about how big a dumpster you’ll need and how much it might cost.

There are unexpected hazards

From lead paint to asbestos insulation, there are hazards that are tough to spot unless you know what you’re doing. You can find test kits for wall paint at home hardware stores. Asbestos is only very rarely found in walls, but if you have quite an old home, it should be looked into.

Making time

This is not a one or two-hour project. Between the permitting, the preparing, the actual work, and the clean-up afterwards, you’re looking at several days. Before you get started, be sure to make a schedule. 

Are you experienced?

If you don’t have the experience needed to knock down a wall, you’ll end up with a huge mess, at best, and a half-knocked down wall that you’ll need to call a contractor for help with anyway. At worst, you could seriously damage your property or injure yourself. Make an honest assessment of your level of experience. If you don’t think you’re up to the task, don’t try it!

With that, we’ve covered the most crucial things you should think about before you swing that hammer. Always be careful when doing home demolition. If you decide to take down the wall yourself, all we can say is - happy hammering!

Guest Contributor: Christie Simon