What is the cost of removing a load-bearing wall?

What does it cost to remove a load-bearing wall?

When a load-bearing wall is removed, a steel beam takes over the load the wall carried. That beam rests on solid bearings at both ends. The costs depend mainly on the span, the weight resting on it and how the beam can transfer its load.

Which work is involved in such an opening, you can read in removing a load-bearing wall.

• Opening of 2 to 3 metres: roughly €2,500 to €5,000
• Opening of 3 to 4 metres in a terraced house: €3,000 to €8,000
• Wide opening with columns and pads: €8,000 to €15,000 or more
• Structural engineer, if quoted separately: €500 to €1,500

What does the cost of removing a load-bearing wall depend on?

The span is the most important factor: the wider the opening, the heavier the beam. What sits above the wall counts too. Does the wall carry only a floor, or also a second storey and the roof? The more weight, the heavier the section and the bearings.

Sometimes the existing wall cannot carry the beam where it bears. Then steel columns are needed to take the load down to the foundations, possibly with a new pad foundation. In Noord-Holland, where the ground is often soft, the structural engineer works this out carefully.

• Width of the opening and weight of what sits above
• Type of floor: timber joists or a concrete floor
• Bearings in existing walls or new columns and pads
• Pipes and cables in the wall that need rerouting
• Fire-resistant cladding of the steel beam

What is and is not included in the price?

A price for removing a load-bearing wall usually covers the structural engineering work, propping the floor above, the demolition, placing the beam and making good around the bearings. Finishing such as plastering, repairing the floor where the wall stood and painting is often priced separately.

Also ask whether the beam stays visible or is concealed in the ceiling. Concealing looks calmer, but costs more. Sometimes a bulkhead is a neat way to box in a beam or pipes.

Do you need permission to remove a load-bearing wall?

You cannot simply alter the load-bearing structure. Since the Environment and Planning Act came into force on 1 January 2024, changing the structure often requires a notification to the municipality, backed up by the structural engineer. For a listed building a permit is usually needed. Check it via the Omgevingsloket or have it arranged for you. See also a permit for a renovation.

Removing a load-bearing wall is often part of a larger renovation or an extension in which the rear wall is opened up. Bouwbedrijf R. Vlieland includes this in the plan, with one dedicated project manager from design to finish. Read more under renovation and what a renovation costs, or ask for a tailored quote after a no-obligation conversation.

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