Hello!

I have a small house from '59 with an area of 74 m2, a living room of 18 m2, and an adjacent dining room of 12 m2 with a doorway in between. Ideally, I would like to remove the entire wall to improve light entry, but I'm unsure if it's load-bearing, and it seems like it would take a lot of work (and money) to restore the floor, ceiling, and electricity in a nice way. Instead, I'm considering if it's a good solution to create a larger opening in the wall in line with the other windows and doorway. Can this be done without tearing down and reframing the entire wall? It is raw wood paneling and masonite.

Brick wall with orange outline measuring 1.35m by 3.2m, adjacent to dining area with chandelier and furniture. Discussion on potential wall modification.
 
If it is a load-bearing wall, you cannot make that opening.
 
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Hundt and 1 other
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Looks very thin but a floor plan would be good to assess load-bearing capacity. Is there a floor above? What does the truss look like?
 
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Trrttsch
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I think I should try to get someone who can say if it is load-bearing considering potential settlements, but I'll attach some pictures from the drawing. On the "Technical description" paper, it says:
Load-bearing interior walls: 2 1/2" stud frame with 15mm particle board and fiberboard panels on both sides.
Other walls: Like load-bearing interior walls.

But let's say it is not load-bearing. Can you then make such an opening without demolishing and reframing?

Blueprint showing a floor plan layout with rooms labeled in Swedish. Highlighted red line indicates a specific wall possibly under consideration for modification. Technical drawing of a building's cross-section showing walls, roof angle, and measurements of 23° slope and 2.70m and 2.50m heights.
 

Best answer

According to the drawing, it is not load-bearing.
If you mean to make a hole just with a saber saw, cut exactly the size of the opening and then leave it as is, it might be difficult.
However, you could probably cut a hole that is 45mm too large, make a frame with a 45-degree miter, which you then cover with trim similar to around a door.
 
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Hundt and 1 other
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Thank you, Krister! That was the answer I was hoping for. Exactly how to do it I will have to ask someone more knowledgeable than I am to help me with, but at least I know that it is probably possible and that it is not too advanced a procedure.
 
T Trrttsch said:
Hello!

I have a small house from '59 that is 74 m2 with a living room of 18 m2 and an adjacent dining room of 12 m2 with a doorway in between. Ideally, I would like to demolish the entire wall to get better light, but I am unsure if it is load-bearing and then it feels like a lot of work (and money) to restore the floor, ceiling, and electricity in a nice way. Instead, I'm considering if it's a good solution to make a larger opening in the wall in line with the other windows and doorway. Is it possible to do this without demolishing the whole wall and re-framing? It's tongue-and-groove boards and masonite.

[image]
If it's not a load-bearing wall, why not remove the whole wall and create "space"?!
 
H Hundt said:
If it's not a load-bearing wall, why not remove the entire wall and create "space"?
Of course, that would be the most attractive option, but then I have to fix the ceiling, walls, and floor to make it uniform, and also rewire the electricity so it becomes a completely different job. But I haven't decided yet. I had to pay for a major car repair, so I need to wait until things are better financially.
 
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Svingeln
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BirgitS
It can be good to have some walls so that there is a natural place to place, for example, storage furniture.
 
T Trrttsch said:
Of course, that would be the most elegant, but then I have to fix the ceiling, walls, and floor to make it uniform and also redo the wiring, so it's a completely different job. But I haven't decided yet. I had a big car repair, so I need to wait until it's better financially.
Do what YOU want and forget my and others' advice! Ask the wife, they're usually the ones who decide, right?? ;/))
 
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Trrttsch
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I think it will look nice as you envision it. Keeping parts of the wall definitely makes furnishing easier while also making the rooms feel more airy.
 
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Trrttsch
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T Trrttsch said:
Of course, that would be the neatest but then I have to fix the roof, walls, and floor to make it uniform and also redo the electrical work, so it becomes a completely different job. But I haven't decided yet. I had a major car repair, so I need to wait until it becomes better financially.
Please show how it turned out later!! Good luck!!
 
H Hundt said:
Please show how it turned out!! Good luck!!
Thank you so much! I will do that but it might take a month or two due to finances. I'm going to repaint the ceilings and, of course, replace the hideous brick wallpaper. :-)
 
A very good start!!
 
H Hundt said:
Ask the wife,
A real man always gets the last word.
"Yes darling":thinking:
 
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Vildparti
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