Open Floor Plan Remodels: Benefits, Costs, and Structural Considerations

Why Open Floor Plans Remain One of the Most Requested Remodels

Walk through most Bay Area homes built before the 1990s and you will find the same pattern: a closed-off kitchen separated from the dining room by a wall, a family room tucked behind another wall, and a formal living room that rarely gets used. These compartmentalized layouts made sense decades ago, but they do not match how most families live today.

Open floor plan remodels tear down those barriers. They connect kitchens to dining areas and living rooms, creating one flowing space where families can cook, eat, work, and socialize without walls blocking sightlines or conversation. The result is a home that feels larger, brighter, and more connected.

But removing walls is not as simple as swinging a sledgehammer. Many of those interior walls carry the weight of your roof, second story, or both. This guide walks you through the structural realities, costs, permit requirements, and design considerations of an open floor plan remodel so you can make informed decisions before demolition day.

Step One: Determine Which Walls Are Load-Bearing

Before anything else, you need to know what each wall is doing. Interior walls fall into two categories.

Non-load-bearing (partition) walls simply divide space. They carry no structural weight beyond their own drywall and framing. Removing these walls is straightforward and relatively inexpensive.

Load-bearing walls support the weight of the structure above them: roof rafters, ceiling joists, second-story floors, or a combination. Roughly 90% of interior walls that restrict room-to-room flow are structural. Removing a load-bearing wall without proper engineering can cause sagging ceilings, cracked drywall, compromised roof integrity, or catastrophic structural failure.

How Professionals Assess Load-Bearing Walls

A licensed structural engineer will evaluate:

• Joist direction. Load-bearing walls typically run perpendicular to the floor and ceiling joists above them.
• Foundation alignment. Walls that sit directly above a foundation wall or basement beam are usually structural.
• Location in the home. Walls near the center of the home, beneath a ridge beam, or supporting a second story are high-probability load-bearing walls.
• Roof structure. The type of roof framing (rafters vs. trusses) affects which interior walls carry loads.

A structural engineer assessment costs $250 to $1,000 and is required before any load-bearing wall work begins. This is not optional. It is the foundation of every safe open-concept remodel.

Structural Engineering and Beam Options

When a load-bearing wall comes out, something must replace it. That something is a beam, sized by your structural engineer to carry the same loads the wall supported. The beam transfers weight to posts or columns at each end, which carry it down to the foundation.

Beam Types Compared

Beam Type	Material Cost Per Foot	Installed Cost Per Foot	Best For
Steel I-Beam	$6-$18	$170-$450	Long spans, heavy loads, multi-story homes
LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber)	$3-$12	$60-$300 per beam	Moderate spans, single-story, cost-sensitive projects
Glulam (Glue-Laminated Timber)	$5-$15	$100-$350	Exposed beam aesthetics, moderate spans
Flush Beam (Recessed)	Varies	Add $500-$2,000	Clean ceilings with no visible beam

Steel I-beams are the strongest option and the most common choice for long spans or homes with significant loads above the removed wall. They can span 20 feet or more without intermediate support. The downside: they are heavy, require specialized equipment to install, and cost more.

LVL beams are engineered wood products made from thin layers of veneer glued together under pressure. They are lighter than steel, easier to work with, and less expensive. For moderate spans in single-story homes, LVL beams perform well and can be recessed into the ceiling for a clean look.

Glulam beams offer an attractive option when you want the beam to remain exposed as an architectural feature. Their warm, wood-grain appearance works well in homes with transitional or modern farmhouse aesthetics.

Flush (recessed) beams sit inside the ceiling framing rather than hanging below it. This creates a completely flat ceiling after the wall is removed. Recessing adds cost because the ceiling joists must be modified to accommodate the beam, but the visual result is seamless.

Cost Breakdown: What an Open Floor Plan Remodel Costs in 2026

Costs depend heavily on whether the wall is load-bearing and how much supporting work is needed. Here is a detailed breakdown.

Wall Removal Costs

Project Type	Cost Range	What Is Included
Non-load-bearing wall removal	$300-$1,200	Demolition, electrical/plumbing disconnect, patching
Load-bearing wall removal (single story)	$1,200-$5,000	Engineering, beam, posts, demolition, finishing
Load-bearing wall removal (multi-story)	$3,000-$10,000	Engineering, heavy beam, multiple supports, finishing
Full open-concept renovation	$90,000-$150,000+	Multiple walls, structural, HVAC, electrical, finishes

Additional Costs to Budget For

• Structural engineer report: $250-$1,000
• Building permits: $500-$2,000 (varies by Bay Area city)
• Electrical rerouting: $500-$3,000 per wall (outlets, switches, wiring inside the removed wall)
• Plumbing rerouting: $1,000-$5,000 if water supply or drain lines run through the wall
• HVAC duct relocation: $500-$2,500 per duct run
• Flooring transitions: $1,000-$5,000 to match or replace flooring where the wall stood
• Drywall and paint: $500-$2,000 for ceiling and wall patching, texturing, and repainting
• Temporary shoring: $500-$1,500 for temporary supports during beam installation

In the Bay Area, labor rates run higher than national averages. Expect to pay 15 to 25 percent more than national cost estimates for equivalent work.

Permits and Code Requirements in California

California building codes require a permit for any structural modification. This is not a gray area. Load-bearing wall removal without a permit is a code violation that can create significant problems at resale, with insurance claims, and during future inspections.

The Permit Process

1. Hire a structural engineer. They will assess the wall, calculate loads, and produce engineered drawings specifying beam size, connection details, and post/column requirements.
2. Submit plans to your local building department. Plans must be stamped by a licensed professional engineer.
3. Wait for plan review. Most Bay Area jurisdictions take 2 to 3 weeks for plan review, though some cities take longer.
4. Schedule inspections. Your building department will inspect the work at key stages: after shoring is in place, after the beam is installed, and after framing is closed up.

What Triggers Additional Permit Requirements

• Removing a wall that contains electrical wiring requires an electrical permit.
• Rerouting plumbing requires a plumbing permit.
• HVAC modifications may require a mechanical permit.
• In some jurisdictions, changing the floor plan triggers an energy compliance review under Title 24.

Working with a design-build firm like Custom Home simplifies this process. Your project team handles engineering, plan preparation, permit applications, and inspections as part of a coordinated workflow rather than leaving you to manage multiple contractors and consultants independently.

HVAC Considerations: The Hidden Cost of Opening Up Walls

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are the most commonly overlooked aspect of open floor plan remodels. Walls are not just visual dividers. They contain ductwork, define HVAC zones, and help control airflow throughout your home.

What Changes When Walls Come Down

Duct relocation. Supply ducts, return air grilles, and registers frequently run through interior walls. When those walls are removed, the ductwork must be rerouted through the ceiling, floor, or remaining walls. This adds $500 to $2,500 per duct run.

Increased volume. Combining two or three rooms into one large space creates a significantly larger volume of air for your HVAC system to condition. Open floor plans can increase heating and cooling loads by 5 to 20 percent, especially in homes with high ceilings or large window areas.

Temperature imbalances. Without walls to contain conditioned air, hot and cold spots can develop. Heat rises and collects near cathedral or vaulted ceilings. Cool air settles near the floor. The kitchen generates heat from cooking while the adjoining living area stays cooler.

Solutions That Work

• Variable-speed HVAC equipment. Systems that ramp up and down based on demand maintain more consistent temperatures than single-stage units.
• Zone controls. Motorized dampers in the ductwork allow different areas of the open space to receive different amounts of conditioned air based on need.
• Ceiling fans. Destratification fans push warm air down from high ceilings, improving comfort and reducing energy costs.
• Dedicated return air. Adding a return air grille in the new open space helps the system circulate air more effectively.

Plan for an HVAC evaluation as part of your open floor plan remodel. Retrofitting HVAC after the walls are already gone is more expensive than addressing it during the project.

Pros and Cons of an Open Floor Plan

Open floor plans are not universally better. They solve certain problems and create others. Understanding the trade-offs helps you decide how much to open up, and whether a fully open plan or a partially open design better fits your household.

Advantages

• Improved sightlines. Parents can watch children in the living room while cooking. Hosts can engage with guests during dinner parties.
• Better natural light. Light from windows on one side of the home can now reach deeper into the interior without walls blocking it.
• Sense of spaciousness. Removing walls makes even modest-sized homes feel significantly larger.
• Flexible furniture arrangements. Without walls dictating room boundaries, you can arrange furniture to suit changing needs.
• Stronger resale appeal. Open layouts are consistently among the most-requested features for Bay Area buyers in the $1.5M to $4M range.

Disadvantages

• Noise carries everywhere. Television audio, kitchen sounds, phone conversations, and children playing all travel freely through the open space.
• Cooking smells spread. Without walls to contain them, cooking odors reach every corner. This is especially relevant for households that do frequent frying or heavy spice cooking.
• Less wall space. Removing walls means losing space for artwork, shelving, cabinets, and storage.
• Harder to heat and cool. As covered above, open spaces present HVAC challenges that compartmentalized rooms do not.
• Visual clutter. Every surface is visible. There is no closing a door to hide kitchen mess from living room guests.

The Partial-Open Compromise

Many Bay Area homeowners find a middle ground: removing one or two key walls while keeping others. A popular configuration opens the kitchen to the family room while maintaining a separate formal living room or home office. Half walls, peninsulas, and wide cased openings can define zones within the open space without fully enclosing them.

Planning Your Open Floor Plan Remodel: A Step-by-Step Approach

1. Define your goals. Which rooms do you want to connect? What is not working about your current layout? Understanding the “why” prevents removing walls you did not need to remove.
2. Hire a structural engineer. Before you commit to any design direction, know which walls are load-bearing and what it will take to remove them.
3. Map your mechanical systems. Identify all electrical, plumbing, and HVAC elements inside the walls you want to remove. This determines rerouting costs.
4. Design the open space. Work with a designer to plan furniture placement, lighting, flooring transitions, and how the open area will function day to day.
5. Get permits. Submit engineered plans and wait for approval before scheduling any demolition.
6. Build with a coordinated team. Structural, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and finish work need to happen in the right sequence. A design-build approach keeps all trades coordinated under one project manager.

Why Custom Home Owners Choose the Design-Build Approach

An open floor plan remodel touches every system in your home: structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, flooring, and finishes. When these disciplines are managed by separate contractors, coordination gaps create delays, cost overruns, and finger-pointing when something goes wrong.

Custom Home’s two-phase design-build process addresses this directly. In Phase 1, your project is fully designed, engineered, and priced before demolition begins. You see 3D renderings of the open layout, review structural engineering plans, and receive a fixed-price construction contract. In Phase 2, one team executes the entire build with a dedicated project manager overseeing every trade.

The result: no surprise structural discoveries, no mid-project engineering delays, and no change orders from uncoordinated subcontractors.

Take the First Step Toward Your Open Floor Plan

If you are living with a compartmentalized floor plan that does not match how your family actually uses your home, an open-concept remodel can transform your daily experience. The key is starting with the right assessment: understanding what your walls are doing structurally, what your mechanical systems require, and what the true cost will be before any demolition begins.

Contact Custom Home for a consultation. We will walk your home, assess your walls, and show you what is possible within your budget and your home’s structural reality.