The most useful opening is not always the widest one. When an internal wall is being removed, keeping a support post may allow a room to feel connected while avoiding some of the complications of a completely clear span. The post also becomes a permanent participant in the room: you will walk around it, furnish beside it and see it from several directions.
A related guide to consider while planning this work is How to Check Whether a Wall Is Load-Bearing.
That makes its position both a structural decision and a household decision. A post that works neatly on an engineer’s drawing can still interrupt the route between the fridge and dining table. Conversely, a post tucked into an island end may fit the layout beautifully but need substantial work beneath the floor. Explore those two realities together before deciding that retaining a support is the obvious compromise.
Define what you are actually keeping
“Keep a post” can mean retaining an existing structural support, installing a new post where part of the wall stood, or leaving a short section of wall containing the required structure. These are different proposals. Ask the project team to name the intended arrangement on the drawings so an old stud, a new column and a decorative enclosure are not confused.
The existing wall may perform several functions. Removing its lining and most of its framing does not automatically leave an adequate support, and retaining a vertical member does not necessarily replace any bracing function the wall provided. A structural engineer needs to assess the altered building and specify the complete arrangement, including connections and what supports the post below.
This article concerns the choice to retain an intermediate support within an opening already being professionally assessed. It does not provide a method for declaring a wall non-structural, sizing a column or removing surrounding framing. Establish the wall’s role first, then compare layouts that the engineer considers feasible.
Ask what the post improves in this particular design
An intermediate support divides an opening into separate supported lengths. That may change the beam arrangement and its associated construction, but the benefit depends on the actual loads, spans and connections. Request a clear comparison of the proposed supported opening and a fully clear alternative, where both are viable.
Rather than assuming the post will halve the cost, ask which work it changes. Does it affect the beam depth, end supports, delivery access, ceiling disturbance or fabrication? Does it introduce a new footing or disrupt a finished floor? The answers explain whether the compromise is useful for this house, rather than merely plausible in principle.
A related guide to consider while planning this work is Removing Two Intersecting Walls: Beam Junctions and Shared Supports.
Consider a third option where appropriate: a slightly narrower opening or retained wall return. If that achieves the desired visual connection while fitting the structure and furniture more comfortably, it deserves comparison. The goal is a workable living space, not an opening dimension pursued without regard to the rest of the room.
Separate fixed conditions from preferences
Ask the engineer to distinguish positions that are structurally practical from positions that are simply convenient to draw. Then ask the designer to test the practical options against the household’s priorities. Knowing where there is genuine flexibility prevents repeated layout revisions around a location that cannot be achieved.
Write a short position brief
A useful brief might say that the support must not obstruct the main kitchen passage, should align with the dining-side end of the island if feasible, and must leave room to replace the refrigerator. These are homeowner requirements for the team to test. They are not instructions to shift a support without revised engineering.
Look beneath the floor before accepting the location
A post transfers force into the construction below it. The visible floor covering does not establish whether that location can accept the proposed support. The engineer needs suitable information about the floor system, existing foundations and site conditions before deciding whether existing construction can be used or new work is required.
Your Home’s discussion of concrete slab floors distinguishes between slab types, including conventional slabs, waffle systems and suspended construction. For a renovation, that distinction is a reason to investigate the actual floor rather than treating every concrete surface as equivalent. A tidy slab surface is not a certificate of capacity at a proposed post position.
In a house with a suspended timber floor, assessment may involve the relationship between the new support, the floor framing and the supporting construction beneath it. In a house on a slab, information about the slab and any relevant thickened portions or other structural features may matter. Let the engineer determine the investigation needed; do not choose a footing detail from a generic example.
Include the access needed for any foundation work
Even a compact finished post can require an inconvenient work area. Ask how the contractor would access the proposed support location and which floor finishes, cupboards or nearby rooms might be affected. A support inside a future island might be visually unobtrusive but difficult to investigate after the island has been installed.
Where below-floor work is proposed, clarify the effects on services and existing building protection measures. The responsible professionals should identify what needs locating, protecting or reinstating. The homeowner should receive a defined scope, including the finished floor repair, instead of an unexplained allowance for “post footing”.
If the available information does not yet support a fixed price, record the assumption and the investigation that will resolve it. Avoid paying for final cabinetry around a post whose position remains provisional. Resolving the base can be just as important to the design as resolving the beam overhead.
Test the post with real furniture and real movements
A plan without furniture can make almost any post seem harmless. Add the actual dining table, chairs, sofa, island and appliances, then show how people move when those items are in use. Include open cupboard doors, pulled-out chairs and the person standing at the dishwasher, not just the closed outlines.
Mark the proposed finished post footprint safely on the floor using a removable method suitable for the surface. Use a lightweight, non-structural mock-up if it can be positioned without creating a hazard. Walk the usual routes while carrying ordinary household items. This exercise assesses usability; it does not prove required access dimensions or structural suitability.
- Follow the route from the entrance to the kitchen with shopping bags.
- Pull out dining chairs as they would be used during a full meal.
- Check whether two people can comfortably pass at the busiest point.
- Consider mobility aids, prams and changes in household needs.
- Map how a large appliance or sofa could be brought through later.
- Look at the post from the main seating positions and from the front door.
Allow for the finished enclosure, not only the bare structural member. Linings, trims and any incorporated cabinetry can enlarge what you see and walk around. Show that final footprint consistently on the kitchen, flooring and general arrangement drawings so each trade works from the same dimensions.
Be cautious about a position that only suits one table
A post aligned perfectly with a small existing dining table may become awkward if the household later needs a larger one. Test a plausible future furniture arrangement while the design is still flexible. You do not need to accommodate every imaginable use, but the room should not depend on keeping one exact piece forever.
For households with changing mobility needs, ask the designer to assess the complete route through the opening. A single wide gap is not enough if a turn, chair or cupboard creates a pinch point immediately beside it. Explain the relevant needs directly instead of relying on an attractive furnished rendering.
Choose whether to reveal or absorb the support
A post can read as a clear architectural element, disappear into a short wall return or become part of a joinery composition. Each approach needs its own detail. The decorative finish should follow the structural requirements rather than be assumed to provide strength or replace a specified protection system.
Incorporating a post beside an island can work well when the island position is already useful. It works less well when the entire kitchen is pushed out of place just to hide the support. Compare the effect on preparation space, seating and passage width before accepting the joinery solution.
A slim open shelf beside the post may soften its appearance, but shelving introduces additional demands on space and fixing. Ask how it will be supported and whether future removal could damage the post enclosure. Avoid treating the structural member as a convenient place for unplanned drilling or service penetrations.
Coordinate its top and bottom junctions
Show how the post meets the beam enclosure or ceiling above. A small misalignment can be prominent in an otherwise simple room. At the floor, decide how boards, tiles or other finishes terminate around the enclosure and how required movement provisions will be maintained.
Agree whether skirting continues around the post, stops at a wall return or is replaced by another nominated detail. These decisions affect the apparent size and character of the support. Making them before flooring and painting reduces the chance of several trades producing separate, incompatible solutions.
Price the supported opening as a complete package
Seek quotations in AUD with GST treatment stated. Ask for the same finished opening, room repairs and documentation in each alternative. A comparison between a fully finished clear span and a supported opening that excludes flooring reinstatement will not reveal the real difference.
The support option should identify the post, beam and connections; investigation and any foundation work; access and protection; service changes; and enclosure and finish repairs. The builder should explain which items are confirmed and which remain allowances. Ask how the price would change if the proposed existing support below proves unsuitable.
An invented budget exercise
Imagine that a hypothetical supported design reduces one part of the beam and handling scope by A$4,200 compared with a clear-span design. It also adds A$2,100 for work beneath the post and A$900 for the post enclosure and floor repair. Assume every amount includes GST and that all other work is identical.
The additional post-related work totals A$3,000, leaving a net difference of A$1,200 in favour of the supported design. These assumed figures are arithmetic illustrations, not Australian market prices or predictions for your project. Different foundation conditions or finish requirements could change the comparison substantially.
Now consider the household consequence. A permanent obstruction in the main passage may be a poor exchange for that hypothetical saving. A post that fits naturally beside existing joinery may be entirely acceptable. The meaningful decision combines a verified project price with the lived effect of the exact position.
Keep the approved position under control during construction
Once the location has been resolved, make it a coordinated dimension on the construction drawings. Identify the reference points used to set it out, the finished enclosure size and its relationship to nearby cabinetry. Ask the builder to confirm any discrepancy before work proceeds around it.
If concealed conditions require a change, review the layout again as well as the engineering. Moving a post slightly may affect a drawer, chair position or transition between floor finishes. A revised structural detail should therefore be checked against the other affected drawings before the change is accepted.
Australian Government renovation guidance identifies professional structural design as necessary for structural modifications and explains that approvals depend on the nature and location of the work. Have the relevant professionals confirm the applicable approvals and inspections. Retaining a post does not automatically make wall removal a minor cosmetic job.
The builder and responsible designers must manage temporary support and construction sequencing. Do not remove additional wall sections because the final post appears to be in place. Agree when the area is available for household use and keep children, visitors and pets outside the contractor’s work zone until released.
Finish with records that explain what remains
Before the support is enclosed, ask what photographs, inspection records and engineering confirmations will form part of the handover. Keep the final approved drawings and any documented changes with the home’s records. Future work should not depend on somebody remembering which apparently decorative column is structural.
At handover, check the finished post position against the agreed plan and try the surrounding doors, drawers and furniture arrangement. Inspect the nominated floor repairs and junction finishes. If a functional conflict remains, describe the specific obstruction rather than simply saying the room feels smaller than expected.
A retained support is successful when it solves a real construction problem without creating a daily living problem. Confirm what supports it, test its finished footprint and make its relationship to the room deliberate. Those steps turn a potentially awkward remnant of the old wall into a considered part of the renovated home.
Sources informing this discussion
Australian Government, Your Home: Concrete slab floors; Renovations and additions. The practical comparisons above are homeowner planning guidance. The building’s engineer must determine the individual post, connection and foundation requirements.