It is a minor revolution tearing down a wall is. You are excited at the prospects of opening up your home to modern, open plan living and fresh DIY design projects. But wall teardowns are not the work of a moment. And, contrary to what may seem obvious, a hammer is not a tool fit for a king.

Think your wall is just a slab of panelling and some timber? Think again.

In this article we are going to try our best to educate (maybe warn) you of what to expect if you decide to bring down a wooden wall* in your house. Make sure you get a construction bin rental before you start, so you can lessen the mess and the wrath of your significant other at your ambitious home DIY.

*Preferably non-structural; you don’t want to bring down your house

Don’t tear down a load-bearing wall

Before you start to ‘deconstruct’ your wall in earnest, make sure it isn’t a structural support of your house. A simple sanity check is by going down to the basement to see if there are any supports or beams under the wall. Also, if the wall is at a 90° angle to joists (horizontal support beams), it is likely load-bearing.

Home DIY tip: Leave that wall alone, if it’s load-bearing

Take off doors

Since you are about to introduce unlimited walking room, you really won’t be needing that door. Start by taking the door off its hinges, then unscrewing frame brackets. Finally, remove the receptacle for the door lock and your door frame is ready to be torn down. Once you cut the caulking between the frame and the door away, the frame should be easier to take out. The same also applies for the baseboard too.

Home DIY tip: Doors are valuable. It may be worth saving that door for when you need to replace another.

Electrical fixtures and fittings

Most likely the wall will have electrical fixtures such as light bulb holders and plug points routed through it. There may also be networking wires to connect to your internet, phone and cable provider. The next step in deconstructing a wall should be to carefully uninstall these and dispose them responsibly. Wires should be disconnected at both ends before being pulled out.

Home DIY tip: Start by turning off power to the wall at the mains; dispose of large electrical wiring and fittings in construction bin rental, else they can pose an electrical and tripping hazard.

Heating and plumbing

Make sure to disconnect or seal off heating pipes from your central heating system. Internal house walls may also have water pipes running through them. Make sure you know where they are located and reroute them as necessary. Beware HVAC ducts and plumbing can be large and cumbersome to work with.

Construction bin rental: HVAC ducts and water pipes are cumbersome to work with and can accumulate mould and dust. Don’t try and dispose of these in an ordinary garbage bin.

Removing drywall and studs

Time to swing that hammer – but gently at first. Start by making a small hole in the wall through which you can perform a last check to make sure no wires or pipes remain. If it’s all clear, break down the wall section by section. Smaller pieces of waste drywall will be easier to fit through doorways. Wall studs will likely need a saw. Once the vertical supports have been removed, the floor stud should be able to be unscrewed.

Construction bin rental: How big of a wall you are bringing down will determine how big a bin you need. It is always advisable to go for one size of bin larger than you need to ensure you aren’t caught out by large wooden studs.

Getting the professionals to do it instead

If all the work has got you feeling a little apprehensive, not to worry. Professional wall removers will have the job done in a jiffy. Regardless, make sure they have somewhere convenient to keep the waste. Junk disposal Toronto after a wall has been demolished can be very cumbersome. Not only do you have to find space to store the mess, there is a duplication of effort as you haul it from storage to your construction bin rental.

Junk disposal Toronto

Junk It has an assortment of garbage disposal bins for rent. You’ll be able to find the right size for your home DIY wall break down (and other DIY design projects), at very affordable rates. We’ll place your bin in a convenient location, and you don’t even need to be home for pick up.

Hey Everyone!

We just completed a pool demolition and removal. It was an above ground pool that our customer wanted to remove in order to get more space in their back yard. Check out the before and after shots.

Before Pool Demolition

And After…….