Remodeling can be as simple as painting the walls, or involve more complicated projects such as tearing down a wall. When doing projects large enough to start removing walls, you must be careful how you accomplish the task so that utilities aren't damaged and the structure of the house isn't compromised. The walls themselves are not difficult to tear down with the right tools.
Instructions
1. Check the architectural drawings of the building to ensure that the wall you want to remove is not a load-bearing wall. If you don't have the drawings, talk to the contractor who built the structure or see if the plans were filed with the Building Department for your county.
2. Turn off the power to the house.
3. Drape plastic covering over any furniture that you cannot move out of the rooms on either side of the wall, and hang plastic in the doorways to prevent drywall or plaster dust from getting into the rest of the house.
4. Remove drywall or plaster by hammering into the wall and prying loose large chunks with a crowbar. Also use the crowbar to pry the walling off of the stud boards. Hammer lightly so that you don't damage any pipes in the wall. The drywall or plaster will break apart fairly easily, so there is no need to take large swings at it. Look inside the wall before inserting the crowbar so that you don't hook the crowbar on any wiring.
5. Swing a sledge hammer at the bottom of a stud to loosen the stud from the nails that are attaching it to the bottom crossbeam. Do the same with the top of the stud, then pull the stud loose from the wall. Repeat the process with all of the studs, one at a time.
6. Cut stud sections out with a circular saw if wiring or pipes are attached. Cut only the section of stud out that is not connected to the utilities. Make the cut at least 1 inch out from the objects. You will need to get a professional to reroute the wiring or pipes before you can remove the studs completely.
7. Pry off the bottom crossbeam 2-by-4 with the crowbar.
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