Open concept and structure.
Removing a load-bearing wall isn't a demolition. It's a load transfer.
The real issue
The wall that bothers you is holding something up. In a Montreal plex, it often supports the units on the floors above, and sometimes the roof. So the question is never whether it can be removed. It's where the load goes once the wall is gone, and how far down it has to travel before finding a support able to carry it.
That second half of the question is what separates a good quote from a bad one.
How we proceed
Survey and analysis
We document what exists: direction of the joists, thickness of the walls, presence of a central load-bearing wall, state of the foundations. In Montreal plexes, the original structure has often been modified once or twice since construction, without being recorded anywhere.
Engineer and sealed plans
An engineer who is a member of the OIQ analyzes the structure, determines the solution and seals the plans. It's a legal requirement, not an optional precaution. No contractor in Quebec has the right to do this work in their place.
Permit
We prepare and file the application with your borough. Requirements and lead times vary from one borough to another, and it's often where projects lose the most time when nobody is actively following up.
Shoring and removal
We install the temporary shoring that carries the load during the work, then we remove the wall. This step is never visible in the final result, and it's where accidents happen.
Beam, columns and underpinning
We install the beam and columns according to the sealed plans, and we bring the load back down to an adequate support. Often down to the foundations, which means working in the floor below, and sometimes in the slab.
Closing up and finishing
Drywall, joints, paint, floors. Once finished, there must be no visible trace of where the wall stood.
The step that quotes forget
Underpinning. Many quotes stop at the beam, because it's the visible part and the easy one to price.
The problem is simple: the beam carries the load of the wall, but it concentrates it on two points instead of spreading it along a whole length. If the support under those two points hasn't been reinforced, the load lands on a slab or a footing that was never designed for it. The result doesn't show right away. It shows one or two years later, in floors that sag and cracks that come back after every repair.
When you compare two quotes and there's a big gap, that's almost always where it is.
Montreal's particular cases
The occupied plex
When the upstairs units are rented, the site is planned around the occupants. It changes the sequence, the working hours and sometimes the shoring method.
The tower and the condo
The condo association has a say, the floors are concrete and access to the ducts frequently goes through the downstairs neighbour's ceiling. That's the context of our Nuns' Island case.
The party wall
On a wall shared with the neighbouring building, the project touches two properties. That's settled beforehand, never during.
Nuns' Island condo
Two units merged into one, in a tower where the concrete floor couldn't be drilled.
Almost every room changed purpose. The building's rules forbade drilling the slab, and access to the downstairs neighbour's ceiling was never granted: the pipes could neither go through the floor nor be reached from below.
We went back through the building's technical file to trace the existing drainage lines, floor by floor, and find connection points usable from our side of the slab. The architect's dimensions were respected, no room was reduced, nothing was drilled in the concrete.
Read the case
So, what are we working on?
Eight questions, two minutes. We call you back to talk it through, and we tell you frankly whether it's a project for us or whether you'd be better served elsewhere.