Interior demo and structural framing (wall removals + new framing)

What happens

This is the most visible internal phase. The GC opens up the existing house — taking out cabinets, fixtures, flooring, drywall, and any walls being removed. The structural framers come in to install the beams and posts that replace the bearing walls. The addition's interior framing ties in.

Sequence

1. Interior demo. Cabinets, fixtures, flooring, drywall, plaster, lath, ceilings. Dumpsters in the driveway. Family is firmly out (or behind a containment wall if sheltering).
2. Selective framing demo. Bearing walls are demoed only after the temporary support is in place. Non-bearing walls come out at any time.
3. Beam installation. LVLs, steel, or glulams set per the structural drawings. Posts at each end. Drypack or shim under each post for tight bearing.
4. Load-path verification. Each new post has to bear on something — a beam below, a foundation pad, a continuous wall. The structural engineer or GC's superintendent verifies each post's load path.
5. Existing framing modifications. Sister joists at the addition tie-in, new headers at relocated openings, retrofit nailing per the structural drawings.
6. Stair work (if any).
7. Subfloor patching. New subfloor where walls came out, sister-joists where existing floor framing was modified.

What the family experiences

The most disruptive phase by a wide margin. Even sheltering in place is hard during demo — dust, noise, water shutoffs. Most families who started in the house move out for at least this phase.

What can change scope here

Demo phase commonly surfaces:

• Rotted sills or rim joists under window walls. Replace and continue.
• Knob-and-tube remediation more extensive than expected. Common on pre-1950 houses.
• Hidden plumbing problems revealed when walls come down.
• Existing framing that doesn't match the as-builts. Designer or engineer issues a small revision.

Most are routine. The hidden-condition allowance line in the contract is what makes them administrative rather than confrontational.

Inspections

• Framing inspection after all wall removals, beams, and new framing are complete and visible.
• Substantial-alteration inspections if the project trips Tip 314 — typically a separate inspection focused on the retrofit work.

When this is done

When the framing is complete, all walls and beams are in their final positions, and SDCI's framing inspection has signed off. MEP rough can start.