Changing a Kitchen Layout in a Small Riverside House

Taking out eight feet of wall is two days of demolition and one afternoon of finding out what the wall was holding up. A bowed wall shows up at the backsplash, as the notes at kitchen bath remodeling riverside suggest url describe, and in a small Riverside, CA house the same surprise tends to show up inside the wall when a kitchen remodeling plan calls for a new layout.

Bearing or Not Bearing

The first question is whether the wall carries the roof or the ceiling joists above. In older houses the answer is rarely visible from the kitchen. The installer checks the attic, looks at the direction of the joists, and sees whether the wall sits under a splice or a beam. A bearing wall can still come out, but it needs a beam, posts, and a footing, sized by an engineer and permitted.

What Sits Inside Old Plaster Walls

Queen Anne houses and Mission Revival bungalows hold plaster on wood lath, often with old wiring, a gas stub, and a drain pipe tucked inside. Opening the wall means finding every line before cutting. Old wire may be cloth-covered, and may need to be rerouted or replaced. Mid-century tract walls are drywall, but still hold vents and supply pipes that have to go somewhere new.

The Work Triangle in a Small Room

The sink, the range and the refrigerator form a triangle that stays comfortable when the legs run between four and nine feet. In a small kitchen the answer is often a galley or an L, with the sink under the window and the range on the opposite run. A short peninsula can add countertop and seating without blocking the path. Moving everything is far more work than moving one piece, so the layout that keeps the sink on its existing drain usually wins.

Floor and Ceiling After the Wall Is Gone

A removed wall leaves a stripe where the flooring stops and the ceiling is patched. In a house with old oak boards, a new section is woven in and sanded to match. Where tile runs, the new section is tied in with backer board and thinset so the surface stays flat. Plaster ceilings crack at the seam, and a skim coat hides the line. Houses near Fairmount Park and Mount Rubidoux often have plaster ceilings of this kind.

Permits Before Demolition

Opening a wall is permit work. The drawings, the beam calculation and the inspection visits all come before the new cabinets go in, and a layout drawn without checking the framing often has to be redrawn halfway through. The cabinet order waits until the wall is open and measured.