STRUCTURAL RENOVATION SPECIALIST · ATLANTA, GA
They told you the wall can't come out. We hear that every week.
Load-bearing wall removal done with engineering precision, steel, and a process that keeps you informed from the first conversation to the final walkthrough.
No pressure. No sales pitch. Just an honest look at what's possible in your home.
A NOTE FROM ALEX
The wall isn't the problem. Finding someone who'll actually solve it is.
I walk older Atlanta homes every week. Virginia-Highland bungalows from the 1920s, Buckhead ranches from the 1950s, Craftsman houses in Inman Park that haven't been touched since they were built. The bones are good. The layouts are the problem.
Somewhere between the kitchen and the living room there's usually a wall that cuts the whole main floor in half. It makes the house feel smaller than it is, dark where it should be bright, and disconnected in all the ways that matter when you're raising a family or trying to actually use the space you're paying for.
Most homeowners who call me have already heard "no" from two or three other contractors. The wall is load-bearing, so they walked. Or they gave a number that made no sense and disappeared. And now this family is either stuck living with a layout that doesn't work, or they're thinking about moving out of a neighborhood they love.
"Three contractors told this family the wall couldn't come out. We removed it in two days and engineered the beam to carry the full span safely."
That's not a miracle. That's what happens when you bring the right engineering to the problem instead of avoiding it. Load-bearing walls can almost always come out. The question is whether the contractor standing in your house knows how to do it right, pull the permit, put in the steel, and document the load path so your house is safer after than it was before.
That's what we do. And the consultation is free because I'd rather spend an hour telling you what's possible than watch another family pack up and move when they didn't have to.
Alex Heide
CEO & Founder, Heide Contracting
You already know something about your home isn't working.
Most families who call us have been living with this for years. Here's what we hear in almost every first conversation:
The main floor is carved into small rooms that don't flow, and every morning feels like a collision course between the kitchen, the dining room, and wherever the kids are supposed to be.
You've had one or two contractors out and they either quoted something that felt made up, or told you the wall was load-bearing and walked away without explaining what that actually means for you.
You've started looking at houses in other neighborhoods, not because you want to move, but because you can't figure out how to make this one work for the life you're actually living.
You're worried about what's really in that wall. If it's holding up the second floor, what happens when someone cuts it? What kind of beam does it need? How does the load get transferred? Nobody's explained it in plain language.
The house has everything you love about the neighborhood. The layout is the only thing wrong with it, and it feels like it shouldn't be this hard to fix.
It shouldn't be. And for most of these homes, it isn't, once you have the right structural engineer and the right crew. The problem isn't your house. It's that this kind of work requires engineering expertise most general contractors don't carry.
Load-bearing doesn't mean impossible.
It means you need a different contractor.
When a contractor tells you a wall is load-bearing and then stops talking, that's not an honest answer. It's an exit. What "load-bearing" actually means is that the wall is carrying weight from above, and before it comes out, someone needs to calculate what it's carrying and design a beam that transfers that load safely to the structure around it.
That's an engineering problem. And it's a solvable one.
WHAT MOST CONTRACTORS DO
Quote without pulling permits
Skip the structural engineer
Guess at beam sizing
Walk away from the complexity
Leave you with no documentation
Tell you it "can't be done"
WHAT HEIDE DOES
Licensed structural engineer on every job
Steel specified to the exact load
Permits pulled and inspections passed
Load path documented in writing
You know what we did and why
You get your house back, opened up
The families who call us after being told "no" twice usually end up with a better result than if someone had said yes too quickly, because we take the time to engineer it right instead of guessing and hoping.
How a load-bearing wall removal
actually works with us.
No surprises. No disappearing. Here's exactly what the process looks like from the first call to the final walkthrough.
Free structural consultation
Alex or a senior team member walks your home, listens to your vision, and tells you honestly what's possible. We look at the wall, the structure above it, what's carrying what, and what a beam would need to do. You leave the conversation with clarity, not a sales pitch. This is $0, no obligation.
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Closed, itemized quote
What we quote is what you pay. Every line item is named: the steel, the beam, the temporary support, the permits, the finish work. No hidden costs discovered after demo starts. If scope changes, we issue a written change order before anything proceeds.
Engineering evaluation
A licensed structural engineer evaluates your specific home, calculates the loads, sizes the beam, and documents everything. On projects that require this, it's included. We don't pass surprise engineering fees through mid-project.
03
Permitted construction with a dedicated project manager
We pull the permits. We manage the inspection. Your dedicated project manager, Gabi Watson or Bryan Santee, runs the job and keeps you updated on what's happening and what comes next. You'll know where things stand every day.
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Final walkthrough and documentation
We walk it with you when it's done. You get the engineering documentation, the permit records, and the inspection sign-offs. The beam is in, the wall is gone, and the load path is documented in writing.
What life looks like after the wall comes out.
We've done this work across Atlanta's older in-town neighborhoods. The clients who've come through the other side describe a version of their home they couldn't fully picture before. It's not just about square footage.
The main floor finally flows.
Morning chaos turns into a space that actually works. The kitchen connects to the living room. Light comes through. People move through it differently.
You stop looking at other houses.
The neighborhood you chose, the schools your kids are in, the block you've built a life on. None of that has to change. The house just catches up to the life you're living.
The structure is stronger, not weaker.
A properly engineered beam carries the load more efficiently than the original framing in many older Atlanta homes. We leave the structure better than we found it.
You have documentation for everything.
Engineering calculations. Permit records. Inspection sign-offs. If you ever sell, refinance, or do additional work, the paper trail is clean and complete.
Everything included in a Heide load-bearing wall removal.
This is what a complete, engineered, permitted removal looks like. Not a quote that grows once demo starts.
Free structural consultation
Alex or a senior team member walks the home and tells you honestly what's possible before any money changes hands.
Licensed structural engineer
On-site evaluation, load calculations, and beam sizing specific to your home. Included in projects that require it. The engineer stays available through construction at no additional cost.
Temporary structural support
Properly supported during the entire demolition and installation phase. No guessing, no shortcuts.
Dedicated project manager
Gabi Watson or Bryan Santee runs your job from start to finish. Daily communication. You always know what's happening next.
Closed, itemized quote
Every line item named before construction starts. What we quote is what you pay.
Steel beam installation
Fabricated and installed by our in-house steel and carpentry crew. Sized to the exact engineering specification for your home.
Permit handling and inspection
We pull the permits and coordinate the city inspections. The work is inspected and signed off before we leave.
Post-project documentation
Engineering calculations, permit records, and inspection sign-offs delivered at closeout. A clean paper trail for your records.
WHAT HOMEOWNERS SAY
"Three contractors told us the wall couldn't come out. Heide didn't just tell us it was possible, they explained exactly how they'd do it and then delivered exactly what they promised."
ATLANTA HOMEOWNER · LOAD-BEARING WALL REMOVAL
"I hired Heide to remove a 24-foot load-bearing wall. Alex and his crew were extremely professional and the quality of work was excellent. Alex answered all my questions throughout the process and provided invaluable suggestions. I will definitely use Heide for all future needs."
Matthew Lee · Atlanta
"The removal of the wall has created an open, airy feel that has completely redefined the living area. What truly sets Heide apart is the respect they show for your home and vision. Alex and his team treated my home with the utmost care."
D.W. · Atlanta Homeowner
"I hired Heide to remove two load-bearing walls in my basement and replace them with steel beams. They were honest, pleasant, the price was reasonable, the work was great and they got it done in less than two days. How often can you say a contractor was better than expected?"
Paulo Trindade · Atlanta
"We cannot say enough great things about working with Heide. We could ask questions and not just receive the standard 'we can do whatever you want' response. Instead we always received well-thought-out recommendations based on their experience while also taking our needs into consideration."
Jason Lexi · Atlanta
Why this isn't the same as
calling a general contractor.
Load-bearing wall removal is structural work. It lives in a different category than a kitchen remodel or a bathroom refresh. Here's what makes the difference in practice.
We specialize in the structural work other contractors hand off.
Most general contractors subcontract the engineering and the steel, which means more cost, more coordination problems, and nobody in the room who actually understands load paths. We keep the structural expertise and the steel work in-house.
Every project is engineered, permitted, and inspected. No exceptions.
We don't take on load-bearing wall removal work without pulling permits and passing inspection. That protects you legally, structurally, and if you ever sell or refinance. It also means the work is verified by someone outside our company.
You have one point of contact who knows your job cold.
Gabi Watson and Bryan Santee run our jobs. They're named. They're reachable. They send updates before you have to ask. "I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone" is the most common reason people leave a contractor review. That's not how we run jobs.
We know what older Atlanta homes actually contain.
Virginia-Highland and Inman Park bungalows from the 1920s are built differently than a 1960s ranch in Decatur. We've been inside enough of them to know what we're likely to find, and how to plan for it before demo starts rather than calling you mid-project with a change order.
Our closed, itemized quote is not the starting number.
It's the number. What we quote is what you pay. If scope changes, you get a written change order before anything proceeds. We've built a business on referrals, and the fastest way to lose a referral is to surprise someone with a bill they didn't expect.
What does this actually cost?
Most load-bearing wall removal projects at Heide range from $10,000 to $75,000 depending on the span, the beam specification, the finish work involved, and the structural complexity of your specific home. We can't give you a real number without seeing the house, and we won't guess, because a guess that turns into a surprise at demo isn't honest.
What we can tell you is this: the consultation is free, the quote is closed and itemized, and we don't start construction until you know exactly what you're paying for.
What shapes the final number
Wall length and span, which determines beam size and steel specification
What's above the wall, one story or two, and how the load transfers
Finish work: drywall, flooring, paint, trim
Electrical or plumbing running through the wall that needs to be relocated
Permit fees, which vary by municipality
Site conditions specific to your home's era and construction type
We reduce scope before we reduce quality. If budget is a real constraint, we'll tell you what we can do within it rather than cutting corners on the structural work.
Questions we hear
before the first call.
Can my specific wall actually come out?
Almost always, yes. The real question is what it takes to do it safely, what beam the load requires, and what that means for your budget and timeline. We've seen very few walls that couldn't come out with the right engineering behind it. The consultation is where we figure out your specific situation.
How long does it take, and do we have to move out?
Most load-bearing wall removal projects take one to two weeks of active construction, not counting permitting time which runs two to four weeks depending on the city. Most families stay in the home during construction. We'll tell you clearly if there's a phase where that isn't practical.
We had a bad experience with a contractor before. How is this different?
We hear this in almost every first conversation. What we can tell you specifically: the quote is closed and itemized before we start, you have a named project manager who updates you proactively, we pull permits on every structural job, and we don't start work we can't finish. If any of that sounds different from your last experience, it probably is.
We're in a historic neighborhood. Does that change anything?
It might change how we permit. Homes in Virginia-Highland, Inman Park, Grant Park, and Morningside often have additional preservation considerations, and some are in historic districts that require additional approvals. We have a dedicated historic preservationist, Carrie Shelburne, on staff who evaluates older homes before any structural work is scoped. We know these neighborhoods and we know how to work within them.
Let's find out what's
possible in your home.
The consultation is free. A senior team member walks your house, listens to what you want, and tells you honestly what it would take to make it happen. No pressure, no pitch.
We take on a limited number of projects each quarter. If you're thinking about this, now is the right time to have the conversation.