Expert General Contractors in Prescott, AZ

Kitchen remodeling-Can you teach an old house new tricks?nPrescott, AZ-In other words, can you remodel an old house and add new concepts? The answer, yes. One of the biggest changes that can be done is opening up the living room/kitchen area into a more open floor plan. Decades ago, many interior walls carried the weight of the roof. This meant that each room had to be closed off so that the walls of the room could carry weight. Any openings for interior doors or hallways had to be limited to 4 feet or so maximum. This is why so many older homes feel closed off. In the 60’s, roof trusses were introduced that carried weight from one exterior wall to the other. Even after trusses were introduced, the closed-off room concept lingered for many years. Many homes built in the 70’s and 80’s and even into the early 2000’s have a closed-off feel but are capable of a open floor concept. Just to be clear, I’m not saying that all interior walls and interior posts in all homes can be removed. There are some instances where interior posts are needed despite having trusses that span wall to wall. Always have a licensed contractor perform the work of removing interior walls.nCreating an open concept in older home will require some vision and some bravery. It feels at first as though you are destroying your home. And when the work is being done it will look as though your home is being destroyed. But, the result of removing some interiors walls can be huge. For example, we have remodeled a home where we removed one interior wall that was about 6ft long. The wall existed between the kitchen and living room and was not far from the front door. Once the wall was removed, the openness completely changed the feel of the house. So, I would encourage a homeowner to create some openness. It will increase the value of your home.