Open Concept Kitchen Remodel in Fort Collins, CO

Taking out a load-bearing wall adds $1,400 to $11,500 to a kitchen remodel in Fixr's January 2026 figures, for the beam, temporary support and the work around it. A non-bearing partition costs far less, mostly demolition and patching. Moving plumbing, wiring or a duct that runs through the wall, and joining two different floors, add to either.

Clues include ceiling joists that run across the wall and rest on it, a wall directly above it on the next floor, or a beam or post below it in the basement. Clues aren't proof, though: an engineer or experienced builder should confirm before anything is cut, because the answer decides the beam, the permit and who may do the work.

Fort Collins exempts owners from contractor licensing on their own single-family home, with conditions, but the work still needs a permit, and a bearing wall needs a beam designed for the load. For a paid contractor, the City's E(R) license class covers nonstructural alterations only, so a bearing wall needs a contractor with a structural class such as D1.

Yes. Removing or altering walls is an alteration under the City's residential remodel permit, and any wiring, plumbing or gas line in the wall adds to the same permit. The fee is based on the whole job's value, $724 for the first $50,000 and $6.50 per $1,000 above that up to $100,000.

For most households that cook and gather in one place, yes, and designers expect kitchens to keep growing: 76 percent in NKBA's 2026 kitchen survey expect the footprint to increase. The trade-offs are noise and cooking smells reaching the living room, which a good ducted range hood addresses, and losing wall space for upper cabinets.

There is a strip of missing flooring where the wall stood, and the two rooms often have different floors or heights. The cleanest result is usually one new floor across both rooms, which belongs in the budget from the start.