Load bearing wall removal in The Colony

The Colony was planned from the start as a city of single-family homes, and its first neighborhoods were built by Fox & Jacobs beginning in the 1970s. Newer neighborhoods followed along Lewisville Lake and near SH-121. That mix shapes which walls homeowners want gone and how we take them out.

Original Fox & Jacobs homes

Fox & Jacobs was a Dallas builder known for efficient, consistent houses. Many of the original homes in The Colony are single-story houses on slab foundations, with a kitchen closed off from the living room and a separate dining area.

Because they were built from a set of repeated plans, they’re easier to read than most older homes. Once we know how one plan is framed, the bearing walls in similar houses usually fall in the same places.

Sloped ceilings and wood beams

Some Fox & Jacobs designs have a sloped living room ceiling, sometimes with decorative wood beams. When the wall between that room and the kitchen comes out, the kitchen’s flat ceiling meets the sloped one.

We plan how the two ceilings will meet so the result looks intentional. In some homes the kitchen ceiling can be raised to follow the slope, depending on the roof framing, which we check in the attic before we quote.

Blackland prairie clay under the slab

The Colony sits on blackland prairie east of Lewisville Lake, where the clay soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry. When a wall comes out, its load moves to the posts at the ends of the new beam.

The engineer checks the slab under each post. If it can’t carry the new load, a footing goes in first, so the opening stays level as the soil moves through the seasons.

Single-story walls and ceiling loads

In a single-story home, the wall between the kitchen and the living room usually carries ceiling joists and sometimes roof braces from the attic. With no floor above, the beam can often be hidden flush in the ceiling, leaving a clean, flat opening.

Eastvale and the older lakeside area

Eastvale was a small lakeside community that later joined The Colony, and its homes predate much of the rest of the city. Houses there can have framing and additions that differ from the original tract plans, so we look at each one closely before the engineer designs the beam.

Lakefront and golf neighborhoods

The Colony has a long stretch of Lewisville Lake shoreline, and neighborhoods like The Tribute and Stewart Peninsula sit near the water and the golf courses. Homes there are generally newer and larger, and many are two stories.

In those homes, the goal is often a clearer view across the house to the back windows. Removing a wall between the kitchen and family room, or replacing patio posts with a longer beam, can open that view.

Two-story layouts and floor loads

When a wall sits under a second floor, it carries the floor joists, the rooms above and anything heavy in them, like a tub. The engineer sizes the beam and posts for that load, and the posts carry it down to the slab. On the first floor that usually means a flush beam or a dropped beam that frames the kitchen.

Austin Ranch and townhome living

Austin Ranch, a master-planned area near SH-121 that reaches into The Colony, includes apartments, townhomes and single-family homes. Inside a townhome, interior walls can be load bearing just like in a house, but walls shared with a neighbor stay where they are. If an HOA manages the community, we provide the engineer’s plan for its review.

Permits in The Colony

The City of The Colony requires a building permit for structural work like removing a load bearing wall. We submit the engineer’s plan, schedule the inspection with the city’s Building Inspections staff and close the permit out, so the work is on record when you sell.

What’s inside the kitchen wall

The wall between the kitchen and living room often holds light switches, outlets, a return air vent or a plumbing vent. We find them before we quote, and any rerouting is listed in your written price, so nothing surprises you on the work day.

Garage conversions and home extensions

Some owners in The Colony want to turn an attached garage into living space or extend the house toward the back yard. Both usually involve removing or opening an exterior or bearing wall. The engineer designs the beam and any new footing, and the work is permitted like any other structural job.

If the garage holds the water heater, the laundry hookups or the main electrical panel, we plan around them before any wall comes out, and any relocation is listed in your written price.

Commercial walls near Grandscape and SH-121

Along SH-121 and around Grandscape, the shopping and entertainment area anchored by Nebraska Furniture Mart, businesses sometimes need to remove a wall, join two rooms or open a space to customers. Commercial wall removal follows the same steps: engineer’s plan, permit, inspection and a written price before work starts.

Updating an original home before you sell

Buyers touring an original home in The Colony often picture it opened up. A wall removed with an engineer’s plan, a closed city permit and a transferable 12-year written warranty gives buyers and their inspectors the records they ask for, and it answers the first question most of them have about a large opening: was it done right?

What drives the cost

Cost depends on the span, the load above and what’s inside the wall. A single-story kitchen wall with nothing in it is the simplest job. Two-story walls, long spans and walls with plumbing or ductwork sit at the higher end. You get a written price that includes engineering, the permit, the beam and the patch before any work starts.

How long it takes and what the day looks like

Most walls come out in one day of work. Engineering and the permit come first and set the overall timeline.

On the work day the crew sets temporary walls on both sides of the opening, removes the old wall, sets the beam and posts, and takes the supports down only once the beam carries the load. Drywall, ceiling and floor are patched where the wall stood.

Questions homeowners in The Colony ask

Is the wall between my kitchen and living room load bearing? In many single-story homes in The Colony, it is, because it supports the ceiling joists. Text photos of the wall and the attic above it to (469) 436-5680 and we’ll tell you what we see.

Can my sloped ceiling stay? Yes. We plan the opening around it and show you how the ceilings will meet.

Do I need HOA approval? Interior walls rarely need it. Exterior changes in HOA neighborhoods, like porch or patio columns, often do.

Where we work in The Colony

We work across The Colony, from the original neighborhoods off FM 423 to Eastvale, Stewart Peninsula, The Tribute and Austin Ranch.

Book your estimate in The Colony

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 The Colony, plus Frisco, Little Elm, Lewisville and Plano.