I'm looking into buying an older house built in 1974, and I've come across this strange hollow box in the bottom of one of the bedroom closets. I've noticed similar structures in a couple of other older homes I've visited. I'm curious about what this box could be and whether it can be removed. Since my friend is moving in and the previous owners used this room more for crafts than as a closet, I plan to tear out the existing dividers. Would it be okay to also remove this box to create more space for hanging clothes? I don't have photos of my house yet, but I pulled an image from the home inspection and another one from a property I toured that shows a similar setup. Here's the link to the images: https://imgur.com/a/SoVj0qu
1 Answer
It sounds like that box might be a soffit, which is often used to conceal ductwork. These structures are usually built around pipes or ducts that can’t easily be relocated. If it sounds hollow when you knock on it, that's a good sign that it's just a cover. If you’re planning to remove it, just make sure to check if it's connected to anything important first!
That's a good point! I wonder if it could possibly be hiding something like wires or piping. Better to investigate carefully!