Instead of destroying the charm of the grand old lady, try to work with her bones. You aren't going to ever make her ultra modern, nor should you try. Those gorgeous plaster walls and arches should be respected, not ripped apart. Where is the structural engineer? The architect? Hire some professionals NOW before the roof caves in and you've done too much damage to the value of the home by destroying it's original features. You can't just start taking down walls without a plan in place first.

Sorry, can't offer any advice more than what hollysprings has already mentioned regarding experts. I love the structure and what looks to be a cobblestone street.

At first I thought this was meant as a joke or to cause ire - "open concept", "ultra modern", "knocking out archways", all to a 1915 Foursquare. What Hollysprings says, no need to add any more comments.

Believe it or not the arches were added in around the 70"s. The house has the old knob and tube and it is cheaper to knock out the walls. I bought the house not to restore it but to make it the way I want. I found the original blueprints to the house and believe it or not the changes we are making are actually bringing it back to the original.

Please tell us a structural engineer or architect was consulted before the demolition began, and guaranteed to you that the second floor wouldn't collapse should you gut the first floor.

And if the answer's No, please consult one before you go back inside.

Ok maybe I should explain a few things that I guess I didn't explain fully...lol. I absolutely love Ultra Modern and we were going to build a very modern house before we bought this house, but when I seen this house I just fell in love with it. The house I plan to make ultra modern with my furnishing and with the kitchen. When we bought the house we knew it needed a major overhaul. What I loved about the house was that the rooms were not closed off and I knew opening them up more would give more of an open layout. Before we start knocking out any walls we did consults with several contractors. We have only knocked out the arches and part of the wall which divided the Sunroom and Kitchen from the Family Room. After we bought the house I found the Original Blueprints to the house which showed that these arches were never here. I thought it was funny how the changes I wanted to make were actually bringing the house back to it's original layout. After talking to the neighbors I found out the arches were added in the 70's and so was the Kitchen and Sunroom. My thinking was by opening the wall it will follow suit with the rest of the house. I think the "Original Kitchen" may be where my Family Room or Dining Room is. It's hard to tell on the blueprints.

When the addition was built of the Kitchen and Sunrrom they also added another section of basement. Now there are 2 levels in the basement. They way they laid out the Kitchen is really unorganized and does not allow for a dishwasher and the placement of the basement door and steps make for a very difficult Kitchen Layout.

The attached Garage and Rooftop deck were added in the 80's or 90's and I absolutely love it.

I guess my question for everyone really is what rooms would you designate for what? What room would you put the TV in cause every room has a door or windows on the wall. As far as the Kitchen I am debating on putting on a small addition so my husband can take off his shoes before he comes all through the house?

After posting the pictures on the Kitchen Forum and getting the great advice on there it was suggested that I get a structural engineer to find out if I can remove the 1 column from the Family Room to the Kitchen. My KD also suggested the wall, which I know is weight bearing, be removed and utilize the Sunroom as part of the Kitchen. I do have a Structural Engineer coming out before we make any attempt at tackling that and I also have the Contractor coming out.

So no worries to all. I love this house and am not changing it they way you are thinking I just need advice on if I added on how would you do it, from the side or back of the house and where to put a 55" TV and make what room for a Family Room? I appreciate everyone's input. Thank you

Yes, the arches. I agree with you now because I remember on Rehab Addict she knocked out some arches saying they weren't original to the house. Sorry. Didn't think until after I posted.

Good luck with all the work. Please post "afters"!

Can you post the original plans? They would be interesting to see.

The photos and the plan diagram tell us little about the possibilities for opening up the plan.

I do this for a living and I can tell you that your demolition procedure is ill-conceived and dangerous. The first task of a major renovation is to collect accurate information and use that to draw plans to scale; an approximate diagram is of no use as a design tool.

The first step is to measure the outside perimeter of the house foundation and then make a scale drawing of the basement showing all structural supports, then measure and draw the first floor and then remove the ceilings above the first floor and sketch the joist framing on a copy of the floor plan noting which walls support them. Then measure and draw the second floor and inspect the ceiling framing from the attic. Then post that information on this forum and design the house; then draw the design to scale get a building permit; then start tearing out walls on the first floor.

What will be the biggest design challenge will be where to locate posts and how to hide the beams that will take the place of the bearing walls you remove. They can sometimes be hidden above the ceiling if the spans are not too great or perhaps they can be placed below the ceiling and be organized into a pattern that looks intentional. Open plans mean big ceilings and they must be carefully designed in advance.

Yes I will post the Orignal Blueprints when I find them. We packed o many things up and i do not know where they are right now...lol

@ Renovator 8. I will work on the measuring as soon as the snow clears. The only wall I want to knock out is the one between the kitchen and sunroom and the 1 structural column. I do have an engineer coming out to look at this wall and a contractor before kitchen gets into full renovation.

Where I live there are no building permits required which i think is crazy but that is how it i here for what i am doing.

I do not want to raise my ceiling I think they are all 11' or 12' now.

When I do the measurements I will post. Thank you!

I've just finished this in our house. You need a complete set of plans of the current house and your proposed modifications. Your structural engineer will then tell you what additions and modifications are required to do this. In my case I have over 20' of 4x10 tubular steel supported by assorted 4x6 steel posts. As well I ended up pouring a few concrete pads to anchor the posts. Not a little work, but I did all the welding myself. We are very please with the results.

I will post the Orignal Blueprints when I find them. We packed o many things up and i do not know where they are right now...lol

I would think you would want to find the original plans so that you can show them to the structural engineer.

From what I recall they did not show anything structural. They pretty much just showed the layout, but caue they are so old they were hard to read.

Approaching any project without a master plan already in place before it begins is extremely shortsighted. You NEED a local architect to help to create flow out of higgledy piggledy. They will engage a structural engineer to review the home's support and what can and cannot be done as far as removing walls. What you have done so far is dangerous and you need to engage someone immediately for your own safety. If your insurance company were to do one of their periodic inspections, they could cancel your coverage. That happens, and your mortgage gets called.