Load bearing wall removal

[Frank Z.]

Hi, I’m in the Atlanta area and am having trouble finding a reliable contractor who can remove a load bearing wall. I have one estimate and i was hoping to get feedback as to whether or not it’s a good price. It’s an old house and the walls are plastered. There are 2 walls I’d like removed. One is 8 ft and not load bearing, the other is about 24 feet and load bearing. The estimate I got to remove the walls, take care of the electrical outlets and move the light switch on the wall, plus finish the ceiling to make it all look nice is for $4,400. This is not with a steal beam, just wood, and a column in the middle. Is that a good price? The contractor cane highly recommended, is nice enough, punctual, and seems very knowledgeable. I’m just new to construction and have no idea what something like this should cost. Thanks in advance!

[Michael Hayworth]

I don't know your local market, but that seems like a reasonable price. 

The 8' wall is pretty simple. The 24' span is really large. What that means is that he's using two 12' glu-lam or LVL beams, with a column in the middle for support. If he got a beam that was engineered to support a 24' span, thereby eliminating the column, it would be considerably larger and would intrude into the space. 

Good framers aren't cheap. But you want to pay for good framers. I've come in after Craigslist guys did wall removal sometimes. By the time the structure is unstable, it's a little late to call for help.

And plaster & lath walls are harder to work with than sheetrock. Everything is more complex in older homes. If it's a total turnkey job, intended to look completely finished, for $4400, it seems like a fair price to me.

(I don't know if that includes permit fees or not, or if he's even pulling a permit. Some blue state guys on here get apoplexy about the idea of not pulling a permit, but they're indoctrinated that way by their culture. :) The truth is, inspectors don't know span charts any better than a good framer does. The important thing is that you have a framer who knows what he's doing.)