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non load bearing wall removal question

2 years ago

First time demo planned for my husband and I. Planning on taking out the section marked in blue. My contractor father in law said it is not load bearing. On the other side of the hallway is a load bearing wall on top of the beam in the basement. It’s an L shaped ranch with basically two long hallways.

Anyway. Would you take the wall down all the way to the ceiling or leave a header like there is now. I believe there is no reason to leave a header but wanted some opinions. This will open up the space into our dining room.

Also, there is no electrical in this wall except doorbell. There is an air return but by removing the wall there is another air return in the hallway that I think will suffice. Any thoughts on this? We are putting all new flooring in.

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Comments (2)

Seabornman
2 years ago
If it's truly non load bearing, I would remove the entire wall. There's no continuous header there. As far as the ducts, there's usually a way to modify them if you have access in the basement. You could try taking the one return out and see if you have issues.
3onthetree
2 years ago
Whether you leave a header or not depends on the layout of the spaces and overall feel of the house, and whether something crosses under it. Do not remove a return unless you can provide the same CFM somewhere else in the same room.
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