Re-routing plumbing in load-bearing wall
Hi!
My wife and I just started remodeling the kitchen in our house, and one of the biggest goals on our list was removing the wall between kitchen and dining room. We knew it was a load-bearing wall, so the plan was to install a header above the opening.
Our contractor just got the plaster off one side of the wall, and we discovered pretty much the worst case scenario. There are a few electrical wires (easy to relocate), some water supply pipes (a bit harder to move, but not too bad), a waste drain for the second-floor bathroom (very labor intensive to move) and an HVAC supply duct (also pretty labor intensive to move).
See the attached picture, or view here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsxspuuw660gx83/2014-03-21%2010.57.30.jpg
The picture is taken from the living room side. The opening to the right is the existing door into the kitchen.
Our contractor's plumber gave an estimate of $4,200 to re-route all of the pipes through a soffit in the kitchen, over to another wall, and down to the basement. We're still waiting on estimates for the electrical and HVAC work.
Needless to say, we're pretty bummed by how expensive it will be to move these mechanicals. We're trying to come up with other options, so I wanted to ask for input here:
- Does the $4,200 estimate seem reasonable for re-routing all those pipes?
- Another option would be opening up a pass-through instead of opening up the wall entirely. We would keep the two right-most bays (containing the drain line and HVAC duct) and open up a pass-through to the left of it. We would most likely put in a bar-height counter extending from the left corner all the way to the right side of the remaining wall section. My wife isn't too excited about the pass-through option; she thinks it would look like a cheap apartment kitchen. Can anyone offer any insight on pass-throughs that look intentional and more "high end"?
- Any other ideas?
Thanks so much! Looking forward to getting some ideas from this super helpful community!
Comments (14)
User
10 years agosnoonyb
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Subfloor under non load bearing walls.
Comments (3)If the top layer is interrupted by the partitions, it is, by definition "underlayment" instead of sub-flooring. The inspector might let you use 1/2 because it is plywood but you've already identified it as a code violation for whatever the joist spacing is. You may have to add blocking where the interior partitions are parallel to and between the joists....See Morehow do I know if a wall is load bearing?
Comments (5)You need to start with a Kitchen Designer and their contractor. They will bring in a structural engineer if needed. If you have a whole floor plan, it’s easy to armchair guess it from here. If it’s parallel to the main ridge, chances are good that it is load bearing. But even if it’s crosswise to the ridge, it could be load bearing. Joists change direction and bearing wall points 4x in my own simple house. It requires an expert in person to inspect all of everything. But removing that wall means replacing all of the floors that touch it. Figure $10-$20 a square foot for that work. Plus the cost of the electrical, HVAC and plumbing relocation. 2K-5K. Plus the cost of the wall removal itself, and any needed structural additions to make that happen. $5-15K. Removing the wall itself is not that expensive if you’re already planning all of the rest on the list. If you aren’t, then it’s going to be cost prohibitive to do....See MoreRe-routing plumbing stack
Comments (10)Thanks, this would definitely take it far from toilet. I just wish when people built these houses, they didn’t stick major pipes into the middle of the house like this. I guess because open concept wasn’t really a “concept” then. The house is 20 years old. I think I need to look for a cabinet or column to hide the pipe. It kind of messes with the design because either the cabinet or column would stick out being in the middle of the room going from kitchen to family room. KD is suggesting keep that portion of wall and stick a cabinet in front, but still seems odd to have a cabinet just stuck in middle. But it is probably less of a headache than trying to move this pipe. I’ve had a lot of issues with this renovation, so don’t want to make more issues for myself. Thanks everyone for your input and guidance!...See MoreBallpark stimate to remove a 20-foot load bearing wall
Comments (1)My guess would be $20K-$50K. A lot depends .......See More
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago- PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago 
robo (z6a)
10 years agoMy favourite pass through inspiration picture -- I think it looks super classy:
erinsean
10 years agosnoonyb
10 years agoUser
10 years agocanuckplayer
10 years agotara9082
9 years ago
Vith
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Susanne Aguilar
8 years agodt516
9 months ago
outerloopsOriginal Author