That Partial Wall Needs To Go. Here"s How To Do It.
It's there, it's in the way, it's not doing anything, it's annoying. It's a partial wall and you want to remove it because you have plans for open space.
A partial wall is a non load-bearing wall that extends into the room and then stops, one end just hanging out there.
The partial wall pictured here is a classic one. Previous homeowners built it into the middle of the room to visually separate a kitchen from living room space. It had a GFCI and an ancient telephone jack. Your partial wall might be similarly useless or it might form a closet, pantry, or furnace enclosure.
At the service panel, shut down electrical power to all electrical devices running to or through that partial wall.
Knock off trim with your pry bar. Is it good? Then save it and salvage for other uses.
Remove your electrical devices. Don't worry about removing the boxes yet.
Change out your utility knife blade to a sharp one. Slice drywall corners with the utility knife. The reason: so that you can preserve the other drywall that's not being removed. If you don't slice the corners, you'll pull away the paper on the remaining drywall.
With the hammer head, knock 4 holes in the wallboard for every cavity in the wall. Studs might be placed every 16" or 24".
There are many ways to locate a stud in a wall, the most popular method being with a studfinder. Another way is simply to estimate where the studs are and start hitting with your hammer. All of the drywall will be trashed, so it doesn't matter if you hurt it. The only purpose for pulling out large sections is to reduce drywall dust and make it easier to carry debris out.
With your reciprocating saw, cut from hole to hole. The best case scenario is to cut out entire squares of drywall.
Drywall strips will remain on the studs. These are annoying, but with some patience you can slowly strip them off with your pry bar. Remove all drywall nails or screws from the studs.
Even though this wall doesn't do anything structurally, it still has to support itself. So, most certainly the wall will have horizontal side braces built into it.
Treat these braces are non-salvageable trash wood and knock them out. Pound on one side of the brace with your framing hammer. With a few sharp blows, the end of the brace should split and the nails bend down.
Tip: With studs still in place, bend those nails straight and remove them. It will it be safer once you toss the studs on the ground (no protruding nails).
Vertical studs might be connected in a number of ways: toe-nailed into the bottom stud plate, side-nailed into blocks, or vertically nailed (coming straight up from the floor).
The easy solution is to slice the stud in half, right across the middle, then bend them back as shown.
If you want to preserve those 2x4s, it may be more work. Start with the bottom part of the stud.
Pulling out these drywalled corner bead wall ends can be frustrating. Concentrate on the little nails that hold in the side of the bead, knocking away the bead to expose them. Once exposed, remove them with the hammer claw.
Likely, one stud will be attached to an exterior wall. The hardest part of removing this stud is gaining access to the nail heads.
Begin at the bottom. Chop away at the wood around the nail head to create enough space for your prybar or hammer's claw to fit. Pry out nails until you can grasp the stud itself. Then, pull away the entire stud, as shown.
A top plate will be attached to ceiling joists. Gently pry away this stud, being careful not to puncture surrounding drywall.
A partial wall is a non load-bearing wall that extends into the room and then stops, one end just hanging out there.
The partial wall pictured here is a classic one. Previous homeowners built it into the middle of the room to visually separate a kitchen from living room space. It had a GFCI and an ancient telephone jack. Your partial wall might be similarly useless or it might form a closet, pantry, or furnace enclosure.
1. Shut Down Power, Remove Devices, and Trim
At the service panel, shut down electrical power to all electrical devices running to or through that partial wall.
Knock off trim with your pry bar. Is it good? Then save it and salvage for other uses.
Remove your electrical devices. Don't worry about removing the boxes yet.
2. Cut Drywall Corners
Change out your utility knife blade to a sharp one. Slice drywall corners with the utility knife. The reason: so that you can preserve the other drywall that's not being removed. If you don't slice the corners, you'll pull away the paper on the remaining drywall.
3. Knock Holes In Drywall At Strategic Points
With the hammer head, knock 4 holes in the wallboard for every cavity in the wall. Studs might be placed every 16" or 24".
There are many ways to locate a stud in a wall, the most popular method being with a studfinder. Another way is simply to estimate where the studs are and start hitting with your hammer. All of the drywall will be trashed, so it doesn't matter if you hurt it. The only purpose for pulling out large sections is to reduce drywall dust and make it easier to carry debris out.
4. Remove The Drywall
With your reciprocating saw, cut from hole to hole. The best case scenario is to cut out entire squares of drywall.
Drywall strips will remain on the studs. These are annoying, but with some patience you can slowly strip them off with your pry bar. Remove all drywall nails or screws from the studs.
5. Knock Out Side Braces
Even though this wall doesn't do anything structurally, it still has to support itself. So, most certainly the wall will have horizontal side braces built into it.
Treat these braces are non-salvageable trash wood and knock them out. Pound on one side of the brace with your framing hammer. With a few sharp blows, the end of the brace should split and the nails bend down.
Tip: With studs still in place, bend those nails straight and remove them. It will it be safer once you toss the studs on the ground (no protruding nails).
6. Remove Vertical Studs: Option 1
Vertical studs might be connected in a number of ways: toe-nailed into the bottom stud plate, side-nailed into blocks, or vertically nailed (coming straight up from the floor).
The easy solution is to slice the stud in half, right across the middle, then bend them back as shown.
7. Remove Vertical Studs: Option 2
If you want to preserve those 2x4s, it may be more work. Start with the bottom part of the stud.
- If Toe-Nailed: Pry away some of the wood to expose the nail head and remove it with your hammer's claw.
- If Side-Nailed Into Blocks: Knock the bottom of the stud sideways out fo the block.
- If Vertically-Nailed: Difficult to remove without damaging stud. With a metal materials blade fitted on your reciprocating saw, begin as low as possible and slice horizontally to cut the nails.
8. Remove Corner Drywall Bead
Pulling out these drywalled corner bead wall ends can be frustrating. Concentrate on the little nails that hold in the side of the bead, knocking away the bead to expose them. Once exposed, remove them with the hammer claw.
9. Remove Stud From The Wall End
Likely, one stud will be attached to an exterior wall. The hardest part of removing this stud is gaining access to the nail heads.
Begin at the bottom. Chop away at the wood around the nail head to create enough space for your prybar or hammer's claw to fit. Pry out nails until you can grasp the stud itself. Then, pull away the entire stud, as shown.
10. Pull Out Top Plate
A top plate will be attached to ceiling joists. Gently pry away this stud, being careful not to puncture surrounding drywall.
