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Whole-Home Renovations

Open-Concept Conversion in Ontario

Opening up a closed floor plan is structural surgery. The walls that divide older kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms are very often carrying the floor or roof above, so removing them means an engineer sizes a replacement beam, a building permit is issued, temporary shoring holds the load during the switch, and an inspector signs off before the ceiling closes. Done in that order, wall removal is routine work for experienced crews. Done without engineering, it is how sagging floors and cracked ceilings happen.

The design decisions go beyond the beam. Walls slated for removal usually hide wiring, ductwork, plumbing vents or drain stacks that must be rerouted before demolition. You choose between a dropped beam, which is simpler and shows below the ceiling, and a flush beam recessed into the floor structure above for a clean ceiling plane at more cost. And the floor itself needs a plan: two rooms becoming one means patching or replacing flooring so the old wall line disappears.

What this covers

  • Structural assessment and engineered beam design, stamped for permit submission
  • Building permit application and coordination of the framing inspection
  • Temporary shoring of floors above while the wall comes out
  • Steel or engineered lumber beam installation, dropped or flush, with new posts and footings where loads require
  • Rerouting of wiring by a Licensed Electrical Contractor and of any plumbing or venting by licensed plumbers
  • Ductwork relocation for registers and returns that lived in the removed wall
  • Floor patching or continuous new flooring across the joined space
  • Ceiling and wall drywall repair, trim reinstatement and paint

What affects the price

  • Span length, since longer openings need deeper or steel beams and heavier lifting
  • Flush versus dropped beam installation — recessing the beam into the floor structure adds labour and engineering
  • What the wall contains: a wall full of ductwork or a drain stack costs far more to clear than an empty one
  • Load path to the ground, because new point loads sometimes need posts and footings down through the basement
  • Flooring strategy for the joined space, from patching to full replacement
  • Whether adjacent scope — kitchen island, lighting plan, trim — rides along in the same project

Every home is different, so we don’t publish flat prices — the quote is free and based on your actual job.

Open-Concept Conversion near you

We take quote requests across Ontario. Local pages:

TorontoOttawaMississaugaBramptonCaledonHamiltonVaughanMarkhamRichmond HillAuroraNewmarketGeorginaWhitchurch-StouffvilleKingOakvilleBurlingtonMiltonHalton HillsOshawaWhitbyAjaxPickeringClaringtonKitchenerWaterlooCambridgeLondonBarrieInnisfilBradford West GwillimburyCollingwoodSt. CatharinesNiagara FallsWellandGrimsbyFort ErieGuelphWindsorKingstonGreater SudburyPeterboroughThunder BayBrantfordBellevilleSarniaWoodstockStratfordOrangevilleCornwallNorth BaySault Ste. MarieChatham-KentOrilliaWasaga BeachMidlandNew TecumsethSt. ThomasKawartha LakesCobourgPort HopePrince Edward CountyQuinte WestLeamingtonOwen SoundBracebridgeHuntsvilleNiagara-on-the-LakeTimminsBrockville

Common questions

How can I tell if the wall I want gone is load-bearing?
Treat every wall as load-bearing until an engineer or qualified designer says otherwise. Joists running perpendicular to a wall, walls stacked above basement beams, and centre-of-house walls are the usual carriers, but houses get modified over decades and appearances mislead. The structural review is required for the permit regardless, so it is the natural first spend of the project.
Will the beam show in the finished ceiling?
Your choice. A dropped beam sits below the ceiling and reads as a deliberate feature, often boxed in painted drywall or wood. A flush beam tucks up between the joists so the ceiling runs uninterrupted — the cleaner look, but it costs more because joists must be cut and hung from the beam with hangers. Ceiling height and budget usually make the decision.
How long does a wall removal project take?
The structural work itself — shoring, removal, beam placement, inspection — typically runs a matter of days once the permit is issued and services are rerouted. Service rerouting before it, and drywall, flooring and paint after it, stretch the whole conversion to a few weeks. Engineering and permit review happen before any of that and vary by municipality.
Does opening the plan cause any downsides worth planning for?
A few honest ones. Sound travels further without walls, kitchen smells reach the sofa, and heating and cooling patterns change in one large volume. There is also less wall for furniture and art. Good designs counter these with range hoods vented outside, zoned lighting, area rugs and a surviving partial wall or island that gives the room some structure.

Ready to sort out your open-concept conversion?

Tell us what you're planning — one room or the whole home — and get a free quote.

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