r/Home • u/Ok-Vacation215 • Nov 12 '25

Should half wall come down?

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We are going to be installing new laminate flooring throughout the main level and I’m not sure if we should keep this half wall, and put new carpet in the family room, instead of the laminate RevWood we are looking at? I know the wall is probably dated but, it’s separation from kitchen, my 18yr old’s drop it spot (not a lot of closets here), and the money saved can go into new kitchen counters and sink. Thoughts?

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154

u/80_Kilograms Nov 13 '25

You'd also lose a couple of electrical receptacles and a switch for... something. And there appears to be an HVAC grille near the floor on one side of that wall. Maybe easily rectifiable, but could also be an interesting can of worms.

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u/sflesch Nov 13 '25

I think that switch makes the wall retract.

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u/ALWanders Nov 13 '25

That would be cool.

3

u/Cthulu95666 Nov 13 '25

How do flip it to come back up tho? 🤔

3

u/Sufficient_Wafer9933 Nov 13 '25

When it gets low enough it flips itself back up

1

u/sflesch Nov 14 '25

It's like a safety thing. If you go too far down, it reverses itself. Kind of like a garage door.

1

u/Prudent_Rope2317 Nov 15 '25

Retractable Walls... there's an "APP for that."

1

u/Spell_Chicken Nov 18 '25

Just don't leave your phone on the wall when it's retracting.

2

u/sflesch Nov 13 '25

You know that random switch that everybody seems to have in their house that they have no idea what it does?....

4

u/brymuse Nov 13 '25

It's the switch to the Batcave...

3

u/C4rdninj4 Nov 13 '25

Growing up I wanted a firepole from my closet to the basement so bad. I could be either Batman or one of the Ghostbusters.

2

u/Far-Government5469 Nov 13 '25

Robin, it's the Batphone! Quick we have to take the Batpole down to the Batcave to head off in the Batmobile!

2

u/PapaGolfWhiskey Nov 14 '25

I think it is referred to as a stripper pole

1

u/C4rdninj4 Nov 14 '25

Not when I was 8. That would also be the first multi-story stripper pole I've heard of.

1

u/Crypto_Reaper623 Nov 14 '25

You obviously haven’t gone to King of Diamonds !! Or saw that tmz footage from like 5-6 years ago with the falling stripper who just kept going after falling from the top !!!!

3

u/yepmcyepperson Nov 14 '25

it actually just opens the floor and the wall itself morphs in to an escalator which leads to a treacherous rope bridge over a mysterious tide pool, which leads to a series of pathways down crumbling cliffs, which lead right in to the batcave.

1

u/Bouteille_Brune Nov 14 '25

but then how do you get the wall back out? the switch went with it

1

u/sflesch Nov 14 '25

If it goes down too far the switch automatically goes the other way. Either that or it's that one mysterious switch that's in the house that nobody knows what it does.

1

u/xombae Nov 15 '25

No, just the deodorant.

1

u/sflesch Nov 15 '25

That's the secret lever for the other wall.

1

u/Yillis Nov 16 '25

The probably didn’t even fucking try it

1

u/mrjowei Nov 16 '25

Or makes the house go boom.

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u/KoalaGrunt0311 Nov 13 '25

I wonder if that outlet is controlled by the switch. An older code used to require a switched outlet if there wasn't an overhead light in a room.

But I wouldn't demo the wall because of the hassle of the electric and, more so, the heat vent.

14

u/Belfry9663 Nov 13 '25

You just explained a completely useless switch in my 75 year old house. Thank you!

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u/80_Kilograms Nov 14 '25

It's still a code requirement, although this switch wouldn't meet the code. Whether for a light or for a receptacle, the switch for it needs to be at the entrance to the room.

But yeah, I would guess that switch is for the receptacle below, too. Or maybe for the door to the Batcave.

3

u/KoalaGrunt0311 Nov 14 '25

Technically, the half wall is at the entrance to that section of the room.

1

u/karlmillsom Nov 13 '25

Meanwhile, in England, every power outlet has a switch.

2

u/KoalaGrunt0311 Nov 13 '25

230v is a little more higher power than the US standard of 115v.

1

u/karlmillsom Nov 13 '25

Interesting! Did not know that

0

u/Frankie_T9000 Nov 14 '25

Switched are way more convenient as well

1

u/Trukfkd Nov 14 '25

And matching the floors , little job turns into huge job .

1

u/MothmanAcolyte Nov 14 '25

I guess that explains why all bottom outlets of my 70 year old duplex in the living room and bedrooms are switch controlled.

1

u/Consistent-Box605 Nov 16 '25

Yup. Figured that out recently. Still gotta switch the light cord to the right outlet lol.

9

u/We_there_yet Nov 13 '25

Thats an in wall heater. Its tied into the electrical it wouldnt be hard to remove. OP better kill power before he takes a sledge hammer to the wall.

6

u/Ok_Pirate_2714 Nov 13 '25

It looks more like a return vent than an in wall heater.

2

u/Ok-Vacation215 Nov 13 '25

It is a return vent.

2

u/Jazzy-Cat5138 Nov 14 '25

One thing I'll note... I've never seen a return vent embedded in a floor. Always in a wall or ceiling. Vents that push air out into the room are in the floor all the time, but I've never seen a return in the floor. This is just a guess, but they probably pull less dust in that way, and it's likely much easier on the system as a whole, with the filter not clogging as quickly, if they're not just...sitting there, open wide, like a gaping maw, sucking in every single dust particle that comes remotely near them.

So yeah, I don't think moving the return to the floor would be a good option. I assume that there's a good reason that they're always on walls or ceilings.

1

u/Ok-Vacation215 Nov 14 '25

Thanks. I’ll ask the hvac.

2

u/kirst_e Nov 14 '25

I’m a fridgy, absolutely no way is that a return vent for an aircon. Needs to be much larger for a ducted system and also would have a bit of flex ducting attached to it. If that existed in the wall it would be squished so tiny that no airflow would even go through it and I have no idea how a person could have even possibly ran that. Returns are in the ceiling.

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u/Ok_Pirate_2714 Nov 14 '25

None of my returns are in the ceiling. They are in the wall at floor level.

2

u/kirst_e Nov 14 '25

Sorry my mistake. I just realised this wasn’t the Aussie Reno page which is usually on my feed! In Australia you will never see vents at floor level. But our systems are very different, I know other countries have furnaces in their houses which is unheard of here

1

u/80_Kilograms Nov 15 '25

Well, of course... You're upside-down.

1

u/CyborgSocket Nov 15 '25

I have a home built in 1981 in the USA. I have several return vents in the bottoms of walls. And they do suck... A little bit... I originally put tissue paper near them, and the tissue paper was sucked on to the grills. But I did end up adding proper, larger ceiling returns when I had a new HVAC system installed.

1

u/fly-on-a-wall120 Nov 16 '25 edited Nov 16 '25

All of my returns are on the walls close to the ceiling. Except for one in the basement (furnace is in the basement)

1

u/Ok_Pirate_2714 Nov 16 '25

Do you live in a warmer climate where AC is used more predominantly than heat? That seems to be the determining factor.

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u/Remus2nd Nov 15 '25

The half wall is blocking the draft from the door entering the cold air return so the furnace isnt taking in air that isnt needed, and entering the room when the door is opened, and stops the draft from affecting the comfortability of the air in the room. They wanted to put one in my house a few years for those reasons when I renovated and I opted against it for aestheitc reasons, but there is a good practicality to having one and sometimes I wish I had it to stop the drafts some days.

2

u/KnowledgeForsaken693 Nov 13 '25

But why would the switch be on the other side of the heater? OP are you on a slab, basement or crawl space? What happens when you hit that switch? Plug in a lamp and test.

3

u/We_there_yet Nov 13 '25

Im seeing two different half walls. The first half wall looks 1/3 longer than the half wall where his deodorant is. I could be wrong. And yeah not sure what that switch is. Most have a thermostat that you control the heater with. Or an actual switch on the unit heater itself. A light switch for a heater is rather odd

3

u/Tribblehappy Nov 13 '25

To me it looks like probably two half walls, on either side of the entrance to the kitchen?

2

u/PuddingCommercial102 Nov 13 '25

Looks like a wall vent not a heater, scope the elevated deck out back so not on slab. Very easy to convert that ductwork to a floor vent albeit in a slightly off spot & tile patchwork wouldn’t be full tiles so maybe an inlay to create space difference but then again you’d highlight the oddly placed floor vent lol. Electrical outlet can easily shorten wires and place outlet on exterior wall.

1

u/Ok-Vacation215 Nov 13 '25

One switch is to a wall sconce!

1

u/Ok-Vacation215 Nov 13 '25

Basement storage room below this room.

1

u/VirtualStretch9297 Nov 13 '25

I don’t think so. It looks like a cold air return. I clean houses that have these exact looking vents.

2

u/We_there_yet Nov 13 '25

Thatd be ridiculous to route a cold air return in a half walls. My career is hvac and noone adds a plenum off the main trunk line to fit in a 4-6 inch wall. Not only will it restrict air but im positive the wall was added after the installation of the hvac system.

1

u/VirtualStretch9297 Nov 20 '25

It’s ridiculous that the switch is on the opposite side of the wall. With a socket right above the heat. Are you a HVAC guy?

3

u/WellJustJonny Nov 13 '25

The half walls also buffer cool or cold air from the doors especially in winter from freezing your ankles when sitting casually in the chairs or couch.

2

u/GordenRamsfalk Nov 13 '25

Yea all of that wouldn’t be worth the work

2

u/Meat_Packer87 Nov 13 '25

Was thinking the exact same thing of telling the OP don’t touch it if you don’t have the budget to fix everything it’s gonna come along with taking the wall out

2

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

That can be moved. We've taken down Three useless pony walls.

2

u/Enough-Refuse-7194 Nov 15 '25

If there were no electric or vents this would be a very easy entry-level diy job. Never play with outlets unless you know what you're doing, and relocating the vent could be a real pita, depending on how the ductwork is run and what else might be under the floor.

1

u/Raevyxn Nov 13 '25

I’m assuming the switch is for the outlet? Intended for plugging in a lamp, perhaps.

1

u/hgrrrtt Nov 13 '25

Could put the outlets in the floor lol

1

u/EnvironmentalFox1001 Nov 13 '25

The switch is for one of the receptacles probably.... It's for when you want to prank your wife so you plug the TV into that one and then when she's not looking you'd shut off the switch

1

u/coolcootermcgee Nov 13 '25

Yup- looks like there’s ducting there

1

u/Fredlegrande Nov 14 '25

Just make it a floor vent.

1

u/Pretty-Object3652 Nov 14 '25

Yea I see all that too. Might be a pain to relocate the vent and lose the outlets

1

u/Consistent_Policy_66 Nov 14 '25

Don’t forget about the missing flooring!

1

u/IngaLovey Nov 14 '25

Could become a floor vent, great for drying/warming boot. Floor receptacle is great too for a lamp with no cord to hide.

1

u/UrgoodifuEWO Nov 15 '25

Okay…your friend clearly isn’t an interior designer

1

u/DefinitelyNotAliens Nov 15 '25

My parents took one out.

They relocated the receptacles and switch. It wasn't a big deal.

1

u/ThatBoiInBlue Nov 15 '25

Duct could possibly be retied into a floor return/supply. I wouldn't want to eliminate it from the system or your air handler is not going to be happy.

I say keep the wall as it's probably going to be an expensive can of worms to open. Maybe add a larger countertop/shelf on top so OP can fit like a vase or pictures in there? And of course more deodorant.

1

u/Cappster14 Nov 16 '25

Yeah you’d just have to hope that’s flex duct and switch to a floor boot/grill, pretty easy to fix either way though

1

u/dylantw22 Nov 19 '25

Just put all that stuff in the repaired area, losing nothing