Fixer Upper - Removing A Wall

The very first thing Caleb wanted to do in the house we just purchased was remove a wall:

The main living/dining area of the house is one of the big things that attracted us to this model. Our previous house had the kitchen between the breakfast nook and family room. This house has the breakfast area in between the kitchen and family room—the layout we preferred. It makes everyday living better, in our opinion, and also provides a nicer flow when we have guests over.

The only issue with this model is that it had a wall with a window in between the eating area and the family room. That may be a preference for some, but we like a more open concept. So we agreed to have the window wall removed. What we didn’t agree on was how to have it removed. I wanted to first hire an architectural engineer to determine if the wall was load-bearing. Caleb just wanted to ask our inspector and a few other folks walking through our house what their “opinion” was. If you couldn’t tell, I am the more risk-adverse one in the relationship, and my 8 year old son Eli is a lot like me:

Eli: "Dad, are we speeding?"

Caleb: "Not a lot."

Eli: "Wait, so we're speeding?"

Jude: "Awesome."

Eli: "That is NOT awesome."

Caleb is also the more frugal one, so that may have contributed to his decision not to hire an architectural engineer. In any case, this is what he used to make the decision that it was okay to have the wall torn down:

Yeah, you see that tiny little hole cut out? That is what Caleb and a few random people he asked used to make this huge decision. Meanwhile, I was certain that the largest purchase we had ever made was about to come crashing down all because my husband didn’t want to spend $200 on a professional opinion.

Turns out, his gamble turned out to be a good one. The wall was not load-bearing. Best of all, the opening up of the two spaces was just what we hoped for:

Here is it now, after having done a few more renovations on our list:

I’ve always thought that painting a room makes the biggest impact for the least amount of money. I now think opening up a wall is #2 on the list! I will have to keep this in mind when Eli someday marries someone who wants to go tearing walls down without hiring an architectural engineer.