Removing wall, moving fridge. Pain in the ass?

[ZYouL8R]

My wife and I are buying a house built in 1986 so it has the standard wall between the kitchen and living room. We're kicking around the idea of removing the wall all the way to the oven, which would open it up to the living room. There are a few issues with this:

1. We'd have to move the refrigerator, which means running a water line to the other side of the kitchen. This kitchen has two pantries, so we'd just demo one and use that space for the fridge.
2. The main light switch for the kitchen is on that wall, so that would have to be moved.
3. I'm not sure if the wall is load bearing since I haven't been in the attic.

So all this said, how much of a pain in the ass do you think this would be? Is there anything that I'm not thinking of that could be a show-stopper? I'm somewhat handy but have never tackled anything like this before. I'd get a plumber for the water line and an electrician for the switch, but everything else I'd try to knock out with some help. Pics below.

[Vertnut]

If the living room is directly behind that wall, I'd figure it to be load-bearing. My wife wouldn't want to give up the cabinet space you're tearing out. It seems everyone is wanting more cabinets now. To kill the water line and electrical is not a big deal for the right people.

[8mpg]

I would agree that it is probably load bearing. You have a huge unsupported area from the dishwasher to the other wall that is on the opposite side of that room you would open up to.

[ceyko]

Just get a floor jack and a 3" pvc pipe to hold the ceiling up. All good.

Vertnut summed it up, to me though that is a nice kitchen. I feel like that layout will comeback.

Either way, think creative and maybe not take it ALL out and just make an opening? A good framer should generally be able to get that squared away with good support. This assumes that is a load bearing wall and personally, I'd not touch that without professional help. I know people do it all the time, but you never really know what happens 5-10 years down the line.

[talisman]

Even if it is load bearing, that can be worked around. The electrical and water line won't be a big deal at all. Looks like a nice place.

[ZYouL8R]

Thanks for the responses guys. Here is a pic of the same wall from the living room. The more I think about it, the more I think it is probably load bearing due to the ceiling height change in the living room.

[8mpg]

Its doable.. I would pay someone and have them run an engineers report before they take out the wall.

[mstng86]

How about just taking out the three top cabinets and opening up that space to make a sort of bar area.

Two pantries?? CHOooooo fucking choooooo

[The King]

Popcorn ceiling coatings are the debbil......

[Vertnut]

Popcorn ceiling coatings are the debbil......

No shit. The good news is that by '86 they weren't using asbestos anymore, so the "danger" part of the equation is gone. It's still a PITA.

[The King]

No shit. The good news is that by '86 they weren't using asbestos anymore, so the "danger" part of the equation is gone. It's still a PITA.

True, because asbestos included in it makes it a really big PITA.

[talisman]

I think I'm the only person on the planet that doesn't mind popcorn ceilings at all.

[The King]

I think I'm the only person on the planet that doesn't mind popcorn ceilings at all.

I don't mind them as far as appearance, but they often flake off easily from minor impacts or air movement, and repainting them is not fun.

[talisman]

I don't mind them as far as appearance, but they often flake off easily from minor impacts or air movement, and repainting them is not fun.

I've never had any flake apart on their own, but my last house I paid a contractor to paint the ceilings since they were pretty obviously aged and yellowed. What a huge fucking mess. It was incredible how much better the house looked after it was done though.

[8mpg]

True, because asbestos included in it makes it a really big PITA.

not always. You can get it tested and if the asbestos content is low enough in the sample, you can scrape it like any other popcorn.