# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  Where to start/what to plan for in removing this arch?

## AKADDK

I want to put in a wall and door from a very large lounge room to this kitchen, primarily for reasons of heating/cooling. It's a huge area to be wasting so much energy heating/cooling the kitchen solely because it's open to the rest of the unit. I'm assuming that to do so I'll first have to remove this arch which is just a decorative feature. I know the other units are all mirrors of each other and so the original structure had a wall/door here and someone removed it and put in this arch. 
This is a D.I.Y. project. Unless there are reasons I should consider hiring a professional that I'm unaware of? There is no wiring in/near it and it's not structural, so I think I should be fine.   
Hints? Tips? Just looking on advice on how I should start and what I should consider in preparing this for a stud wall and door jamb/frame. If I'm a dummy for even considering this as a D.I.Y. then by all means, tell me that too, but dammit, I really wanna do this and I have just enough confidence to think I can!

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## Spottiswoode

Remove the plasterboard first to see what you are working with frame wise.

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## phild01

Don't remove too much, you are infilling, and if it works placing the door to one side of the opening will make the work easier. As you are unsure, 
i recommend not touching the existing cornice work but simply butt and tape to existing plasterboard.

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## David.Elliott

Don't know your budget or what the rooms are either side but how about a pair of custom french doors framed to exactly the width you need to fill?
Then all you are left with is the area above to fill in. A simple job.  
If you put the doors on parliament hinges then they can open flat to the wall when not closed...

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## phild01

> Don't know your budget or what the rooms are either side but how about a pair of custom french doors framed to exactly the width you need to fill?
> Then all you are left with is the area above to fill in. A simple job.  
> If you put the doors on parliament hinges then they can open flat to the wall when not closed...

  +1
 Simply because open plan is preferable and the doors achieve what you require.

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## AKADDK

> Don't know your budget or what the rooms are either side but how about a pair of custom french doors framed to exactly the width you need to fill?

  
The lounge area measures 4.08m x 6.45m. The opening from the lounge to the dining/kitchen area is the arch that I want to fill with a wall/door which is 2.35m wide. I was thinking of just a normal door directly opposite the door from the dining to the laundry room but my primary objective is to create a barrier so that I don't have to heat and cool the dining/kitchen area in addition to the rest of the living spaces. It's just wasted energy and the lounge area is already huge enough that open plan just makes the place feel cavernous. 
Also, if I'm understanding the parliament hinge idea properly (entirely probable I'm not), the doors would be interfering with the dining table area as they'd be sitting flush with the south wall? A clear walkway from lounge through dining to laundry would be preferable with a table to the south of that clearway.

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## joynz

You also have an energy sink in the entrance door/passage area.    
Putting a door here (into the lounge) would stop cold air from outside rushing in when the front door is opened and really help with warmth.  Very common to have this feature in sustainable builds. 
Re. Filling in the arch:  Bunnings usually has a leaflet in the plaster aisle or check out youtube.

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## AKADDK

Yeah, not much I can do with the entrance part since I need to heat/cool the bedrooms as well and short of individual units (which ain't gonna happen), I rely on airflow from a reverse cycle split system on the eastern wall of the lounge. It's a weird design lol

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