Removing a Wall and Adding an Archway

Remove or carefully cover with plastic sheeting the furnishings in affected rooms. Contain construction dust by covering and sealing off doors and doorjambs. Open windows in the rooms you’ll be working in to exhaust some dust.

Remove wall trim first. Cut through paint sealing trim to the wall, if needed, with the utility knife. Insert the putty knife to start separating trim and finish with the crowbar. Slip the reciprocating saw’s blade behind the trim to cut frame nails. Carefully remove all trim. Remove trim nails from behind with the nail puller.

Open up the wall. If you remove most of it, first cut near the corners with the reciprocating saw to prevent later ceiling and wall damage. For drywall or regular plaster walls, pound a hole in the wall with the hammer and pry off the wall covering. For lathe and plaster, carefully knock off the plaster. Clean up the debris and then remove the lathe.

Remove wall studs to create the archway opening. Saw each unwanted stud in half. Twist each top section free from the top of the wall frame -- the plate -- and twist the other half free from the bottom or sole. Cut away the sole segment that spans the opening and pry it up. Remove and discard all wood debris.

Create a suitable pattern for the top of the archway opening. Make a partial circle, partial ellipse or half-circle from cardboard. Hang it in the opening with tape to make sure it fits the space and leaves enough headroom. Mark and cut two arches from 1/2-inch plywood using this pattern.

Cut a 6-foot-long 2-by-4 down to 2 1/2 inches wide, about 2 inches narrower than the wall’s total thickness. Next cut the 2-by-4 into three pieces, or one top block and two side blocks. Nail these to the existing framing at and near the top of the opening. Center each piece to the framing so the 1/2-inch arch plywood on each side will fit flush to the frame when nailed in place. Nail the arches to the frame.

Make short support blocks from a 2-by-4. Attach these with screws between the arch sections at 6-inch intervals. Cut the hardboard into 1/8-inch strips and nail these to the arch blocks along the plywood’s curves and also down both sides of the opening to the floor. The hardboard provides a solid backing for the drywall.

Fasten drywall over the arch’s face on both sides, allowing it to overhang. Cut out the arch curve with the drywall saw. Cut a strip of the bendable 1/4-inch drywall. Starting 6 inches below the arch curves, push the drywall up against the hardboard edge and bend it around the curves. Drive two nails into each arch block every 6 inches. Finish the sides with straight drywall strips.

Apply flexible plastic corner bead to both edges. Run the bead around the curve -- centered on the corner, tight to the drywall -- and to the floor on both sides. Staple it every 3 inches. Use ordinary drywall tape for regular seams. Mix up joint compound to cover the corner bead and drywall seams. Let it dry between first, second and third coats. Sand, prime, paint and finish off the wall.