tearing down a wall using concrete saw

Tearing down any walls within the home is a big job and one that has to be done with safety in mind. There are many different things that have to be considered and careful planning is a must. There may be several different reasons as to why you want to take down a wall, but the most common one is that many individuals like their homes to have the open concept. This means taking down one or two room dividers to achieve this which may involve wall sawing and concrete cutting.

Planning is key

You should give some thought to the overall planning of the wall removal and what your expectations are. Study it carefully to see if it is really going to give you more room, or perhaps your purpose is to create more light and a better flow throughout the home. Try to visualise this space as it will be when it becomes open, and this will give you a better idea of whether you are making the right move in removing the wall. You also want to consider if you are going to use this new space for additional seating. If so, then you need to determine that this is going to flow nicely into the room that the wall was dividing.

The first important step is to determine if the wall that you are going to remove is a load bearing wall. This is critically important because it’s providing support for the structure of different segments of your home. Removing this can be devastating and cause serious damage and even personal injury. If you are not sure whether the wall you’re removing is safe to do so, we highly recommend that you speak to a professional that is well-versed in wall sawing or concrete cutting.

Once it has been determined that the wall can be removed then you are ready to go on to the next step. You may be in for some surprises when you open the wall, as chances are you do not know what exists in the interior of it. You may come across items such as old light switches, a vent, or thermostat for example. We recommend that you use the proper tools for determining what may be within the walls. For example, an AC voltage detector or a voltmeter will help you determine if there is any live wiring that may be in the wall. If you do find there are electrical components within the wall that you are removing, we recommend that you use an electrician to remove these or redirect them. You don’t want to run the risk when wall cutting, or concrete cutting that you cut into these.

Safety steps

Before you begin removing the wall the first thing to do is to make sure you are personally protected and you are using the proper safety gear. Ideally a hard hat and safety goggles are something that we recommend.

You are probably going to want to use a crowbar to remove items such as the trim and the panel so you can get down to the wall structure itself. It is really important to be careful when working up against the adjacent walls that you do not damage them while removing the one wall that you want to get rid of.

Removing the drywall

To break down the drywall, which most walls are comprised of and are also called plasterboard,you can use a hammer or wall saw. Once you have broken down all of the drywall, we suggest that you get rid of this as it begins to build up as it could be a safety factor and you could end up tripping over it.

Once all of the drywall has been removed then you are ready to start working on the studs. You need to be extra cautious here as you will not only need to do some wall sawing, but you will be coming across nails as well. When you are working all along the wall lines you may want to use a reciprocating saw as this will give you better control and allow you to cut a straight line. It is most important that you work carefully when you get to the adjacent structures, otherwise the amount of work that you are going to have to do by way of touch-ups could be quite substantial.

Removing brick or concrete walls

An even greater task can present itself when the wall that you’re going to remove is brick or concrete. The same preparatory work must take place when attempting to remove the concrete wall. Again you need to be sure that it is not a load bearing wall and that you are wearing the proper safety equipment, and using the proper tools for concrete cutting. You want to work from the top down and again use the same clean-up precautions. There are several different tools you should be working with such as pneumatic jackhammers, hammer chisels or you can resort to a sledgehammer and a pry bar and chisels. There is no doubt that this is a big job and takes a fair amount of expertise.

Here at MegaSaw we have the skills and expertise to get this job done for you. Hand sawing is our specialty and we use the latest equipment for tough jobs such as wall sawing and concrete cutting. Rather than take this task on yourself we highly recommend that you hire our professionals to get the job done for you quickly and easily and to your utmost satisfaction. This is going to save you time and most probably money in the long run, and will allow you to get on with the better part of your project which is planning for your new space.