Since the load bearing wall removal is finally complete and now we’re just working on the furnishing and room design, I figured I’d do a post summarizing all of the posts and work we’ve done over the past few months. Plus, I like being organized and having things in one place, much to the annoyance of my husband, but who still reaps the benefits of this trait anyway.
We started with this mess of a never used room:
And are now here, to a beautiful, open, family room:
It’s definitely been one big labor of love! The scouting and planning work went on for about 6 months (we had big decisions to make while taking care of a baby!) and then the actual work started in late April 2017, and became livable in July 2017. The long timeline to this was mainly due to the fact that we are DIYers and did large portions of this project ourselves, while both having full time jobs, and a crazy toddler running around the house. So while the length of time sounds crazy, it was what we could manage while also keeping our sanity. I would go into budget details, but figured I won’t advertise to the world how much money we’ve spent these last few months. If you’re really curious, whether because you’re a nosy person like me when it comes to these things, or just would like to plan your own project, send me a message and we can chat!
So below are all of the posts that we’ve done summarizing the work we have done to plan, design, select contractors, and execute our project.
1. The beginning! Thoughts and planning:
2. The work begins! HVAC design and selection:
This Wall is Coming Down! – HVAC Selection
3. Choosing an HVAC Contractor and the installation:
This Wall is Coming Down! – HVAC Installation
4. Planning and designing the load bearing beam:
This Wall is Coming Down! – Engineers, Contractors, & Beams. Oh My!
5. Demo of the old wall and installation of the new beam!
This Wall is Coming Down! – Demo & Installation
6. Some more details about HVAC, electrical, and drywall as the project went on.
This Wall is Coming Down! – HVAC, Electrical, & Drywall
7. DIY jobs like molding, recessed lighting, and painting.
This Wall is Coming Down! – Recessed Lighting, Molding, & Paint
8. Flooring – the final touch!
This Wall is Coming Down! – Flooring
9. The REVEAL!
This Wall is Coming Down! – The REVEAL
10. Planning out the design ideas (my favorite part!)
So that’s it! All about the our load bearing wall removal project! It was quite a journey, but we’re happy to have it behind us. I’ll be concentrating on furnishing and decorating it over the next few months, and maybe we’ll eventually get to those built ins too! But for now, we’re enjoying our open family room, and can’t wait to have family and friends over to enjoy it!
If you have a friends or family planning on doing a project like this, feel free to send them this post as a resource!! We hope it helps out others so they may not have to go through all of the headaches we did!