What is centre post removal?
It's taking out the post between your two single garage doors so they become one wide opening. Homeowners spell it centre or center post, and call it removing the pillar, the divider, or the middle support. Same post, same job. The catch is that the post is rarely just a divider — and that's where most quotes go quiet.
Is the post load-bearing?
Almost always, yes.GTA builders typically framed two separate, cheaper headers with a post carrying load between them rather than one long engineered header. In most two-storey homes that post helps hold up a bedroom. Homeowners get conflicting answers on this, including from inspectors; the safe engineering default is to treat the post as structural until a licensed engineer confirms otherwise. That's exactly what the free assessment does.
What replaces the post? The beam.
A structural beam engineered for your specific span and loads — typically LVL or glulam, with steel where loads or clearances demand it. During the swap, a temporary support wall carries the load while the post comes out and the beam goes in. If there's a room above, the engineer redesigns the load path and sizes the beam for it. That changes the design, not the feasibility. The beam is designed by a licensed structural engineer with stamped drawings filed alongside the permit. See how the engineered beam is sized and installed for the full breakdown.
Permit and inspection
Removing a load-bearing element requires a building permit and stamped structural drawings under the Ontario Building Code; a like-for-like door swap does not. We prepare the application with the engineering drawings, file it, and carry the municipal inspections. Unpermitted structural work risks stop-work orders, resale disclosure problems, and insurance complications — so every project we run is permitted and inspected. Full detail on when a permit applies and what it takes is on the Ontario garage door permit guide.
What's included
Post removal is one line item in a single, accountable contract — no general contractor to find, no door company that stops at the post. It's part of the same two-to-one garage door conversion we run end to end:
- Structural assessment and engineered beam design
- Centre post removal with temporary support in place
- Engineered beam supply and installation
- Building permit and municipal inspections
- Framing and exterior finishing (brick, lintel and brickmould; stone, stucco and siding equivalents)
- Custom-width double door, opener upgrade, site protection and disposal
Centre post removal questions, answered plainly
Is the centre post between two garage doors load-bearing?
Almost always, yes. GTA builders typically framed two separate, cheaper headers with a post carrying load between them rather than one long engineered header, and in most two-storey homes that post helps hold up a bedroom. We treat it as structural until a licensed engineer confirms otherwise. .
Can the post between two garage doors be removed?
Yes. Once a licensed structural engineer sizes a replacement beam for the specific span and loads, the post comes out under temporary support and the beam goes in. Most GTA setups, including a bedroom above the garage, are candidates. .
What replaces the post?
An engineered beam, typically LVL or glulam with steel where loads or clearances demand it, sized by a licensed structural engineer with stamped drawings filed alongside the permit. .
Does removing the centre post need a permit?
Yes. Removing a load-bearing element is structural work and requires a municipal building permit with stamped structural drawings under the Ontario Building Code; a like-for-like door swap does not. .
What does centre post removal cost as part of a conversion?
Where nothing load-bearing sits above the opening, such as a bump-out or detached garage, the all-in price for the full conversion, including post removal, is $16,000 to $18,000 CAD. A room above the garage changes the beam design and is priced at the free assessment. .
See if your post can come out
Sixty seconds tells you if your garage qualifies. Candidate status first, contact details after.