Introduction: Removing an Interior Wall; Home Improvement

By UncommonCate

I am remodeling an out of date bathroom, and one feature that had some serious issues was the shower. It was the kind that is just some walls with tile stuck on. Both the drywall and studs had been damaged by water from the shower. So, now I am tearing down the interior wall so that I can install a proper shower.

Step 1: You Will Need...

You Will Need...
-Hammer
-Chisel
-pry bar (optional)

It is a good idea to turn off the electricity for this, and be aware of any electrical sockets, light fixtures, etc. Do not cut random wires, electricity is dangerous!  Also, do not remove a major load bearing wall (walls that are holding up the house).

Step 2: Preparing the Wall

The first thing to do is remove anything solid that is covering the dry wall itself, such as tile. You can leave paint, wallpaper, etc.

To remove tile You need a masonry chisel and a hammer. You can buy chisels at your local hardware store.  They're usually in the hammer section. Simply place the chisel edge against the edge of the tile and hammer against the end of the chisel.

If the tile is really hard to chisel, whack the tile a few times with the hammer. Don't worry about damaging the wall behind it because it's about to be torn down anyway.

Step 3: Removing the Dry Wall

First, locate the studs. Tap on the wall, and the places that don't sound hollow probably have a stud behind them.

Next, chisel a rectangle inside the studs, after you have done this, a whole rectangle should fall out (picture 2). Repeat for each set of studs (picture 4).

The next part is fairly easy, hammer, or kick, down the other side of the dry wall.

To remove the drywall that is nailed to the studs, either chisel or hammer until it disintegrates from around the nails.

It should now be just the studs (last picture).

Step 4: The Studs

First, the wood between the studs on the floor have to be removed. I just kicked these out, but if that fails, a hammer a pry bar should work. (picture 2)

Now, wiggle the stud. Move it left, right, forward, and back until the nails pull themselves out (picture 3).
(picture 4 is the top board the stud was nailed to.

Step 5: Finishing

You should now have a nice empty hole, that used to have a wall!

Good Luck to home improver everywhere!

More intructables on home improvement to come...