Project Type
Kitchen Layout Changes in Newport Beach
Taking out the wall between the kitchen and the rest of the house, and doing it as a structural job rather than a demolition job.
The single most requested change to a Newport Beach kitchen is opening it up. The reason is generational: the largest share of the city's housing was built in the 1960s and 1970s, when kitchens were designed as separate service rooms, and the households living in them now want one connected space with a view through to the water, the patio or the family. Removing a wall is straightforward only if the wall is non-bearing, and on the tract stock in Eastbluff, Dover Shores and Newport Heights the wall between kitchen and living room very often is bearing. Then the job becomes structural: a beam sized by a licensed engineer, posts down to a bearing point, and sometimes a new pad footing under the slab. That is not a reason to avoid the change, but it is the reason a wall removal is quoted at $8,000 to $25,000 rather than the cost of a day with a reciprocating saw. Flush beams that disappear into the ceiling cost more than dropped beams that sit below it, because they require the joists to be hung off the beam rather than resting on it.
What the scope covers
- Load path established before anything is priced, working out what the wall carries and where that load goes
- Structural engineering by a California-licensed engineer, producing stamped calculations for the beam size, the posts and the load path beneath them
- Beam options compared: dropped beams cost less and change the ceiling line, flush beams cost more and disappear
- Temporary shoring designed and installed before the wall comes out, on both floors where the house is two-story
- Utilities in the wall traced and rerouted: switching, outlets, occasionally a plumbing vent that must be relocated properly
- Beam set, post connections and hangers completed and checked against the engineer drawings before any ceiling is closed up
- Ceiling and flooring made good across the old wall line, which on a 1970s house often means addressing two different floor heights
- Post landing points checked against the foundation, including whether a new footing is required under a slab
To get this priced on your own kitchen, call (949) 791-4160 or use the quote form for a free quote.
Read next
On layout changes, specifically
- How do I know if the wall is load-bearing?
- The reliable indicators are which way the floor or ceiling joists run above it, whether the wall lines up with a wall or beam on the floor below, and whether it sits under a ridge. Perpendicular joists overhead is the strongest signal that the wall is carrying them. None of this is conclusive from the kitchen side, and the answer is normally settled by an engineer or a contractor opening a small section of ceiling. On the two-story stock in Newport Heights and Eastbluff the interior wall between kitchen and living room carries load more often than not.
- What does an engineer add to the cost?
- For a straightforward single-beam residential job in Orange County, structural engineering commonly lands between $1,500 and $4,000, covering the site visit, the calculations and the stamped drawings. Two-story work, a long span, or a house with an unusual framing history sits at the top of that range. It is a separate engagement from the contractor and the stamp comes from the engineer, not the builder.
- Is an island always the answer once the wall is gone?
- Not always. An island needs about 42 to 48 inches of clear aisle on every side people work from, and dropping one into a room that cannot give it produces a kitchen that is worse than the closed original. Where the width is not there, a peninsula returning off one run, or a longer single run with a separate dining table, usually works better. The islands page covers the clearance arithmetic in more detail.
- Can the ceiling be levelled at the same time?
- Often yes, and it is worth asking. Kitchens from this era commonly have a dropped soffit above the wall cabinets and sometimes a lowered ceiling over the whole room to hide ducting. Once the ceiling is open for the beam, removing the soffit and taking the kitchen ceiling back up to the height of the adjoining room is comparatively cheap. Doing it later, as a separate job, is not.
- How much longer does structural work make the project?
- Typically four to eight weeks on top of a cosmetic-scope kitchen, and most of that is not construction. Engineering takes a couple of weeks, the beam itself is often ordered rather than bought off a rack, and shoring has to be built before anything comes out. The crew days for the beam itself are usually three to five. Getting the engineering done before demolition starts, rather than after, is what keeps this from becoming an open-ended delay.
From the Journal
More on this, written for Newport Beach
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Related Projects
Scopes that usually travel together
Kitchen work rarely arrives as a single line item. New cabinetry means new countertops, because the old stone will not survive removal. Opening a wall means rethinking the layout it was constraining. And on a pre-1980 house, the moment the walls are open is the cheapest moment the wiring and pipework will ever be reachable.
Full Kitchen Remodel
Everything out and everything new: cabinetry, surfaces, appliances, lighting, flooring and the wiring and plumbing behind them.
Kitchen Cabinetry
New boxes, refaced fronts, or a full custom build, specified around how the room is really used and what the salt air will do to the finish.
Countertops and Backsplash
Slab selection, templating, fabrication and installation, with the seam and edge decisions made before the stone is cut rather than after.
Kitchen Islands
An island that earns its floor space: sized to the clearances the room can give, and serviced properly if it carries a sink or a cooktop.
Find out what your kitchen costs
Call (949) 791-4160 or use the quote form, and a Newport Beach kitchen company prices the work at no charge.