Opening walls in Rowlett homes

Rowlett grew up around Lake Ray Hubbard. Most of its neighborhoods were built after the lake filled, so the typical Rowlett house is a brick home from the last few decades of the twentieth century or a newer build from the 2000s. That makes for a fairly consistent set of floor plans, and a fairly predictable set of walls homeowners want to remove.

Brick ranch homes from the 1980s and 1990s

Many Rowlett homes are brick ranches from the 1980s and 1990s. A common plan puts a formal living room and dining room near the front door, a family room in the middle and a kitchen that opens only to a breakfast area.

The wall between the kitchen and the family room is usually the one families want gone. In a one-story ranch, it often carries the ceiling joists and some of the roof framing, so it needs a beam and posts designed by the engineer.

The formal dining room nobody uses

In many homes of this era, the formal dining room sits empty most of the year. Taking out the wall between it and the kitchen turns it into part of the daily living space, whether that becomes a bigger dining area, a homework table or a wider kitchen.

Before we quote, we check whether that wall is load bearing and what runs through it, like wiring for the kitchen lights or a duct feeding the front rooms.

Two-story homes and newer builds

Rowlett also has newer two-story homes, many with bedrooms or a game room upstairs. In those houses, the wall between the kitchen and family room may hold up the second floor.

That calls for a beam sized for floor load, posts at each end and a check of the slab under them. If the slab needs support, we add a footing before the beam goes in.

Waterview and golf course homes

Waterview, developed mainly in the late 1990s and early 2000s around the Waterview Golf Club, includes traditional two-story homes and larger custom homes in areas like Broadmoor Estates. Custom homes rarely follow a standard plan, so the engineer traces every load before sizing the beam.

Long spans and tall ceilings are common in larger homes, and they can call for a steel or engineered wood beam instead of standard lumber. We explain the choice in your written price.

Opening the view to Lake Ray Hubbard

If your home looks out toward Lake Ray Hubbard or a golf course, the wall between the kitchen and the living room may be blocking the best view in the house. Removing it lets you see the water or the fairway from the kitchen.

The back wall of the house, where the windows are, is a different matter. Widening those windows means changing an exterior load bearing wall, which takes its own engineering and permit, and we can plan both at once.

Covered patios and porch columns

Many Rowlett homes have a covered back patio with a post or two in the middle. Replacing those posts with a longer beam opens the view to the yard, the pool or the lake and frees up space for outdoor furniture. Exterior changes like this may need association review, and we provide drawings when it does.

Townhomes and patio homes near the lake

Several townhome and patio home communities sit near the lake. Interior walls in these homes can still be load bearing, while the walls shared with a neighbor stay as they are. If your community has an association, we check its rules before work starts.

What sits above the wall

Before the engineer designs anything, we go into the attic to see how the ceiling joists, roof braces and any upstairs framing land on the wall. A wall that looks simple from below can carry more than expected, and finding that out before the quote keeps the price accurate.

If the attic is hard to reach, photos from the access hatch are a good start. We’ll tell you what we can see from them and what we need to check in person.

Permits and inspections in Rowlett

Structural changes like this need a permit in Rowlett. We file it with the engineer’s plan, schedule the inspection and close it out, so your home has a clean record when you sell or refinance.

What affects the price

Every price includes engineering, the permit, the beam and posts, and the drywall, ceiling and floor patch. Second-floor loads, long spans and plumbing or gas lines in the wall push it higher. A short opening in a one-story ranch keeps it lower. You get a written price before any work starts.

From estimate to open wall

The engineer’s design and the Rowlett permit come first and set the overall timeline. After that, most walls come out in one day of work, with the inspection scheduled right after.

How the wall comes out

Our crew starts by building temporary walls on both sides of the opening to hold up the ceiling. Then the old wall comes out, the new beam and posts go in, and the temporary supports come down only once the beam is carrying the load. We patch the drywall, ceiling and floor where the wall stood before we leave.

Pairing it with a kitchen remodel

If your Rowlett kitchen is due for new cabinets and counters, remove the wall first. The beam, the ceiling patch and any moved wiring or plumbing need to be finished before the new kitchen goes in. We can coordinate with your remodeler or open the wall now and leave the kitchen for later.

Living at home during the work

Most families stay home. We seal off the work area, protect the floors, keep a clear path to the rest of the house and clean up before we leave each day. Pets and kids stay on the other side of the plastic, and we let you know ahead of time when the noisiest part of the work will happen.

Dallas County and Rockwall County homes

Rowlett sits mostly in Dallas County, with part of the city in Rockwall County. For a wall removal inside city limits, the process is the same either way: engineering, the city permit and the inspection.

Questions Rowlett homeowners ask us

Is the wall between my kitchen and family room load bearing? In many Rowlett ranches, yes. Text us photos of the wall and the attic above it and we’ll tell you what we see.

Can you widen the windows facing the lake? Often, yes. It’s an exterior structural change that needs its own engineered header and permit.

Will my HOA need to approve the work? Interior work usually doesn’t. Exterior work, like patio columns, often does.

Rowlett neighborhoods we serve

We work all over Rowlett, from Waterview, Lake Shore Village and Lake Park to the Vineyards and the Trails at Cottonwood Creek, plus neighborhoods along Dalrock Road, Lakeview Parkway and the George Bush Turnpike.

Book your estimate in Rowlett

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 every part of Rowlett, plus Garland, Rockwall, Sachse and nearby cities.