How to Open a Concrete Shear Wall

Consult with a structural engineer before cutting into a concrete shear wall. A structural engineer can tell you which concrete shear walls may be safely removed and how much of a shear wall can be removed without compromising the wall structure. Don’t just start cutting into the wall, which can seriously compromise its stability.

Cover the floor area beneath the concrete shear wall with a heavy-duty drop cloth. If the concrete wall comes out in another room, use a drop cloth to cover the floor on both sides of the wall. Cover any fixtures that must remain in the rooms with plastic sheeting, using masking tape to secure the sheeting around the fixtures.

Measure the height and width that you want to make the opening in the concrete shear wall surface and mark the top, bottom and sides of the opening with chalk. Heed all advice given by the structural engineer to avoid removing too much of the wall.

Use the concrete saw to make cuts around the perimeter of the walls, creating five or six cuts in each area and break up the concrete with a sledge hammer. Continue this process until the concrete around the entire perimeter has been broken up.

Work a prybar into the broken concrete at one side of the perimeter. Standing at the side of the opening away from any falling concrete, pry at the solid piece of concrete left in the center of the hole to free it from the wall. If the concrete refuses to come loose, break up more concrete around the interior of the opening until you can break all of the concrete inside the chalk lines loose.

Cut any rebar that becomes visible as the concrete crumbles apart. Use a hydraulic bolt cutter to make cuts in the rebar at the edges of the opening in the concrete.

Move to the opposite side of the concrete wall and use the same technique to remove the concrete and cut into any rebar that becomes exposed. Use a concrete grinder to grind down the rough edges left around the perimeter of the opening and cut away any jutting rebar as necessary, to create a smooth opening in the concrete.