The Path to "Open Concept"

The house we recently moved into was built in the early 70's and as per the the era, is not in line with today's open concept trends.  That wasn't going to work for our family long-term so we decided we wanted to remove some walls to completely open up the main floor and install an island.I will say right now that this process is A LOT more involved than they make it look on TV.  Firstly, depending on the scope of work, this is not a job for a general contractor.  We contacted a company that specializes in the removal of load bearing walls and structural remodeling.  The reality is, these are not small jobs and require the expertise of professionals.  Did you know that you have to account for the weight of snow on your roof when determining the size of beam to install?  Yeah neither did we. That's why hiring the right professional is key.  In our case, after an initial ballpark quote, structural engineers were brought in to take measurements and create drawings that would determine what options we had and what costs would be associated with each.  We got lucky in that what we originally envisioned was possible and the cost was roughly what we had allocated based on the original quote.  That's not always the case.  Sometimes what you want isn't possible so you need to be open minded and willing to adjust your vision (and budget) if necessary.Our contractor also handled obtaining all the necessary building permits and scheduling the inspections with the building inspector.  This was an aspect of the job that we wanted to be managed by the experts because we have zero knowledge of what's required and what the necessary steps are to ensure everything is signed off on correctly.Now, fair warning, the rest of this kind of job can be pretty overwhelming because it's messy.  Like next level messy.  There is just no neat and clean way open up walls, remove drywall and saw into concrete no matter how careful you are.  No amount of tarps or drop cloths prevent the dust from getting everywhere.  I am a very neat and organized person so the mess sent me into the stratosphere of stress.  I had an actual eye twitch for at least two days. I was able to coup best by leaving the house and returning only when the crew was done each day.  For us, installing the beam was the project that needed to be completed before we could move forward with any other renovations.  We hadn't painted or installed our new floors or really done anything.  Not having to worry about potential damage did alleviate a little bit of stress and should be something to consider if you find yourself wanting to do a similar renovation on your own home.And finally, cost.  Removing walls and installing beams (if done correctly) is not cheap.  It's kind of like a new roof, new windows or a new furnace.  Not exactly fancy or Instagram worthy but necessary and worth the investment.  This is the structural integrity of your house you're dealing with and if it's not done correctly you could end up spending more in the long run to correct and potentially create a house that is completely unsafe to live in.