Go Far®The typical numbers
For a single-story home — or a wall on the top floor — removing a load-bearing wall and installing a properly sized beam typically runs $5,000–$12,000 in this market, including engineering, permit, shoring, the beam, and basic patching. When the wall carries a second floor, spans get long, or the beam needs to tuck flush into the ceiling, $10,000–$20,000 is realistic. Projects where plumbing, ductwork, or a main electrical run live inside the wall — common in kitchens — can reach $25,000–$30,000 once rerouting and finish work are counted.
How the work actually happens
First, a structural engineer confirms what the wall carries and sizes the replacement beam and posts — typically a few hundred to a thousand dollars, and required for the permit everywhere we build. Then the crew builds temporary shoring walls, opens the wall, sets the beam — usually engineered lumber (LVL or glulam), occasionally steel for long spans — and carries the new point loads down through posts to footings that can take them. Finally comes the part photos skip: patching floor, ceiling, and walls so nobody can tell a wall was ever there.
What moves the price
- What is inside the wall. Empty stud bays are cheap. Drains, supply lines, ducts, and packed electrical are not — this is the single biggest variable.
- Dropped vs. flush beam. A beam below the ceiling is simpler; recessing it into the floor framing above costs more and looks like it was never there.
- The load path below. New posts need support all the way to earth — sometimes new footings in the crawl space or basement.
- The age of the house. Pre-1980s homes can add discoveries: undersized framing, old wiring, or materials that need testing before demolition.
Permits are not optional
Every city in our service area treats structural changes as permitted work with inspections — and an unpermitted beam is exactly the kind of thing that derails a future sale. Our guide to remodel permits covers how the process works and how long it takes.
Usually part of something bigger
Most wall removals happen inside a larger project — a kitchen remodel that opens to the living room, or a whole-home remodel that rethinks the main floor. Pricing the wall together with the room is cheaper than doing them a year apart, since the patching and finish work overlap. See our whole-home remodel cost guide for how the full-floor math works.
Get the structural answer first
Go Far Construction handles engineering coordination, permits, and structural work on remodels across Lynnwood, Seattle, and Snohomish & King County. A free estimate tells you whether your wall is load-bearing and what removing it would honestly cost.