Load bearing wall removal in Dallas homes

Dallas has every kind of house we work on: 1920s bungalows and Tudors, post-war ranch homes, 1970s split-levels and newer two-story builds. The wall homeowners want gone is almost always the same one — the wall between the kitchen and the living area — but what it carries changes a lot from one neighborhood to the next. That’s why every Dallas job starts with an engineer looking at your house, not a standard beam size.

Older Dallas homes on pier-and-beam foundations

Many homes in older Dallas neighborhoods like Lakewood, the M Streets, Kessler Park and parts of Oak Cliff sit on pier-and-beam foundations. When a load bearing wall comes out, the load it carried moves to the posts at each end of the new beam. In a pier-and-beam house, those posts need solid support down to the ground, so we check the piers and beams under the floor and add support where the engineer calls for it.

These homes also tend to have plaster walls, older wiring and ceilings framed by hand. We plan for that before we quote, so the price you get covers what’s really inside the wall.

Ranch homes from the 1950s and 1960s

Single-story ranch homes are common across Lake Highlands, Preston Hollow, Northwest Dallas and Far North Dallas. In a lot of them, the wall between the kitchen and the den carries the ceiling joists and part of the roof. They’re usually good candidates for a flush beam hidden in the ceiling, which gives you one flat ceiling from the kitchen to the living room.

Two-story homes and second-floor loads

In two-story Dallas homes, the wall between the kitchen and the family room often holds up the floor above — bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. That needs a beam sized for floor load. Our engineer checks what sits upstairs and sizes the beam and posts for it, and we tell you up front whether the beam can be hidden in the ceiling or will drop below it.

Slab foundations on North Texas clay

Newer Dallas homes sit on slab foundations over expansive clay that swells when it’s wet and shrinks in dry summers. Where the new posts land on the slab, the engineer checks whether the slab can carry the point load. When it can’t, we cut the slab and pour a new footing before the beam goes in.

Permits in the City of Dallas

The City of Dallas requires a building permit to remove or alter a load bearing wall. We file the permit with the engineer’s plan, schedule the framing inspection and close it out, so the change is on record when you sell.

Historic and conservation districts

Parts of Dallas are historic or conservation districts with rules about how a house looks from the street. Interior wall removal usually isn’t affected, but exterior changes like removing porch columns can need review. If your home is in one of these districts, we check the rules and prepare the drawings the review needs.

A recent Dallas project

A typical Dallas project opens a closed kitchen to the living area, with a new beam carrying the load and the kitchen finished around it. You can see projects like it on our gallery page.

What it costs in Dallas

Most load bearing wall removals in Dallas include engineering, the city permit, the beam and the ceiling and floor patch. Two-story homes, pier-and-beam foundations that need new support and walls with plumbing or ductwork inside sit at the higher end. You get a written price before any work starts.

How long it takes

Most walls come out in one day of work. Engineering and the Dallas permit come first and set the overall timeline. We protect your floors, contain the dust and clean up every day.

Plumbing, gas and ductwork inside the wall

Kitchen walls often hide a vent stack, a gas line for the range, ductwork or the switches for the kitchen lights. We check for all of it before we quote, and any rerouting is listed in your written price so nothing surprises you on the work day.

Questions Dallas homeowners ask us

Is my wall load bearing? Often, yes, especially between the kitchen and the living area. Text us photos of the wall and the attic above it and we’ll tell you what we see.

Do we need to move out? No. Most families stay home. We close off the work area, protect the floors and keep a path through the house.

Can you work with my remodeler? Yes. We can open the wall first and hand your remodeler a finished, permitted opening before cabinets and flooring go in.

Selling a Dallas home after opening a wall

Dallas buyers expect open, updated layouts, and their inspectors look for permits on structural changes. A wall removed with an engineer’s plan, a closed City of Dallas permit and a transferable 12-year warranty is easy to explain at closing.

Raised ceilings in older Dallas homes

Many 1920s to 1950s Dallas homes have a steep roof over a flat 8- or 9-foot ceiling, which leaves room in the attic to raise the ceiling once a wall comes out. Raising it to follow the roof line, or vaulting it with exposed beams, makes an opened-up kitchen and living room feel much larger. Whether it works depends on the rafters and ceiling joists, which we check in the attic during the estimate.

Porches and covered patios

Front porches on older Dallas homes and covered back patios on newer ones often have posts right in the middle of the view. Replacing two or three posts with one longer beam opens the porch and the view to the yard. Exterior changes in historic or conservation districts may need review first, and we help with what the review asks for.

What happens on the day of the work

On the work day our crew sets up temporary walls on both sides of the opening to hold the ceiling, removes the old wall, sets the new beam and posts, and takes the temporary supports down only once the beam is carrying the load. The ceiling and floor are patched where the wall stood, and the Dallas framing inspection is scheduled right after.

Book your estimate in Dallas

Call or text (469) 436-5680 with photos of the wall and the attic above it, or book a free on-site estimate. We serve all of Dallas, from Oak Cliff and Lakewood to Lake Highlands, Preston Hollow and Far North Dallas, plus Richardson, Plano and nearby cities.