Removing a wall in your home to create one big room and make the house feel more spacious seems like a good idea if you're dealing with cramped living quarters. However, if the wall you want to remove is load-bearing, you need extra help. It is possible that removing the wall yourself might be legal where you are, but it's a tough job that requires multiple people and knowledge of just how those load-bearing walls are set up. You are much better off arranging for a professional interior demolition company to do the work. That's the best way to ensure that the resulting open room won't lead to the eventual demise of your house.

The Support Has to Be Replaced

Load-bearing walls are called that for a reason: They bear the load of part of the house. In other words, they provide support that keeps the roof up. If a load-bearing wall is removed, but the support is not replaced, the house can deteriorate quickly. It might not collapse immediately, but it will sag, crack, and decay at a fast rate.

There are ways to replace the support, ranging from vertical columns to horizontal beams. However, unless you are familiar with how those fixtures should be installed, you could end up damaging your house.

You Can't Do This on a Whim

When load-bearing walls are involved, so might be permits. This is not a weekend project and will likely require advance approval from a planning department in your city or county. That means you'll need to give in-depth information about what you plan to do. If you don't know much about load-bearing parts of your home, a demolition company is a better candidate for getting that permit for you.

It's Not Just the Support That's a Concern

You're not just tearing out a wall and some beams; you're cutting off a lot of electrical wiring and possibly some plumbing and phone wires. Even if you don't use those outlets and don't have a landline, you have to disconnect and remove the wiring carefully lest you destroy a portion of your home's electrical supply. You could also increase your risk of being electrocuted or of starting an electrical fire in the walls if you try to do the work yourself.

Interior demolition companies are more familiar with load-bearing replacement and wiring modification. They can change the look of your house without changing its structural integrity.