I can see the confusion that is causing others like Live Wire Oak to say that this is too cheap. To re-clarify the issue. This is bumping out an interior, load bearning wall, that is in the middle of the house an extra 6" so that an existing waste line that is run around ceiling height will be inside the "wall" eliminating the need to make a soffit or cut out the back of a cabinet for the waste pipe. On that note the $1300 is alot of money. I have been following you many posts about the issues you have encountered. I know you don't totaly trust the GC anyway. First off the nail rail is for his benefit since he will save in labor time/expense in hanging the cabinets. So if he wants to put that into this new wall then that should be on his dime not yours. As far as cost, I know I am typically a DIY so I am speaking on those terms. For a 180" wall you are talking 12 studs based on 16" OC. You then would have a top and bottom plate as well. There may be a few more studs to connect sheetrock to the old wall. Since you mentioned that you wanted to put a niche behind the stove area, you need to frame out the niche area but then you will be taking away some of the vertical studs to put horizontal studs anyway. So I figure you are looking at like $100.00 in lumber and you then need less than $100.00 in sheetrock to cover that new wall and tie into the old. There is other stuff like corner bead and tape and joint compound. Obviously there is labor but if he is a good GC then maybe 2hrs to frame this wall out and another hr to hang the sheetrock. There will be time required for taping and spackling 3 coats. We are only talking about 15' of wall here with a few joints to tape. Especialy if the GC buys 4'x16' wallboard there will be only one seam to tape. So less time and cost. Seems like this guy is trying to recoup $$$ or something since the job has been prety much on a standstill until the venting issue gets resolved. I probably should add this to the other thread but since I am here :). How about going back to a previous thought and run the venting now through the MB closet. I think initially the back of the closet was like 14" from the current wall towards the window wall/ Is that right? Buolding this wass will eat up 6" you say. Once you transition the round to rectangular, you should be able to get 45 degree fittings. The restriction is not equal to 1/2 that of a 90 degree it is less. So you should be able to use a 45 and then run a piece of rectangular duct up to get to the back of the closet, maybe to the point inside of this back wall and then use another 45 to straighten the pipe out and then run up and through the closet ceiling into the attic. You then would loose like 4" of depth in the closet. You may loose a little bit of space as well in the bottom of the closet, from where it comes up from the kichen ceiling/closet floor until it hits the back wall and the second 45 elbow. This should be minimal and could probably be boxed out. I am not an HVAC guy but from what I have seen. I think you can use 3.25 x 14" rectangular duct to equal the static pressure for an 8" round pipe. This would allow you to put the while duct in the closet wall. I would think you could use oval as well. I have this situation in my master bedroom closet. I had an oval HVAC pipe runing off the back wall. When I re-did the bedroom, I used 45 degree oval fittings to get it into the wall from the ceiling and then did the same thing on the floor into the ceiling register in the room below.

Thanks much for all the comments - sorry the excel layout leaves a lot to be desired to understand the flow to the rest of the house and the exterior - which is pretty important. I'll try to lay something out - but basically, the backdoor comes in off the driveway which is at say elevation 0, then there is a first step down into the first part of back yard, about where the steps down are from the EIK that takes you down to -4...to a lower bluestone patio that goes into a walkout basement right below the butler pantry. Then, the backyard slopes down yet again another 4 get to -8 total to the right of the end of the house. I will draw up. What do you think right min. size is for a 4-top round EIK? In my "excel" lingo, the black rectangles are doorways and the orange are windows, so the thought was to create a floor to ceiling glassed in EIK, which is the best view of the backyard. (Top of plan is north, so is going to be south facing which is a concern). The door out of the EIK is the secondary access to the backyard - and the grill. Good point about the location of the refrigerator - thanks again for all comments...

Ok. Let me try this again. I have color-coded the drawing to help explain what I am asking. What I am trying to accomplish is to have the benefit of extra space without totally removing the load-bearing wall. With the island I would like to put in, I won't have a wide enough walkway if I line the load-bearing wall with cabinets. However, I was thinking that I might be able to keep the support from the load-bearing wall, place a pantry, closets or cabinets around the supports for that wall, and create a non-load bearing wall behind it. Sort of bumping the wall back without losing the structural integrity it provides and without the cost of removing it, especially because I would need to put up another wall between the dining room and kitchen, even if it is not as long. Otherwise, there is nowhere to put the fridge. This means I would lose some space in the dining room, but we don't use it more than 1-2/times per year. I am attaching some photos of my very ugly current kitchen to give you a better idea of the current layout. At this point, I am wondering if this idea has any merit before I move into other floor plans for the space. I really, really want the big island but am not sure if it is feasible. 1. View from dining room into kitchen: view from front hallway near stairway 3.kitchen from family room 4. view of load-bearing wall from kitchen toward the dining room 5. another view of load-bearing wall 6. from garage entrance into kitchen 8.from bay window area toward load-bearing wall If there are other views you would like to see, please let me know.

If it's a 9 foot long wall and you use a 48" long table then yes you will have room. The angled corners are only there to scoot in to sit on the banquette along the 48" length anyway. Don't be fooled by the idea that you will have a drawer in the built-in cabinetry as shown. Note the height of the seat of the chairs and the height of the top of the banquette cushion - way different. The banquette is way higher. This a a common misconception. Just add the inches up: 4" to 5" h base board, a rail at the top and bottom to hold the drawer in, the top molding edge, the cushion height and then subtract from 18" (the height the top of the cushion should be)...and well you are lucky to have enough for just a tiny niche. I'm 6' and I would not find that banquette height comfy even with my very long legs ; - ) Also prior designer is correct to be aware of the expenses you are walking into. Perhaps you simply remove the door add a window with a built in bench (just deep enough) in front of the wall?I do not see a plan and assume it is not possible or you would have considered it? Tip: College degreed and subsequent major design office experienced designers always begin by designing in plan ; - )