# load bearing walls



## chucas00

i want to remove a wall between rooms.  How do i determine if wall is load bearing.


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## HandyMac

One way to tell in a single story house is to look in the attic. If there are trusses, there is a good chance all interior walls are nonloadbearing. Most walls parallel to attic framing members are also nonload bearing.

If trusses were not used and if you are not sure, having a structural engineer look at the house/wall in question is a good idea. That cost will be much less than any cost to repair a mistake.


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## broke

does that mean that interior walls that are parallel to the slope of the roof are non-loadbearing?  

i live in a 2-story townhouse.  

is the load it is bearing just the roof weight?


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## inspectorD

You folks trying to remove walls....
The ONLY way for you to tell if a wall is bearing is to contact a professional. There is no way anyone on this forum can tell you how to determine this with out careful study.
If you try to figure it out you could do serious damage to your home.
Please just leave the major problems to the experts. 

Thanks,
InspectorD


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## broke

oh, i would never guess and i hope the others won't either!!!  

just dreaming and hoping i'm going to be able to knock a 3'-4' door in one of these walls into the next room.  

thanks.


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## CraigFL

I understand InspectorD's concern but as long as you look carefully and ask some questions, you should be OK to put a 36" or 48" door in most walls. The key is to brace the ceiling when you remove Studs and put a suitable header and braces back in. Replacing or eliminating a whole wall would be more difficult although I've seen many homeowners do this with the sagging ceiling/roof...


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## BillsCatz

Lets get a grip there, Inspector D.  A few of us here are licensed contractors and finding a load-bearing wall is not brain surgery.  Rules of thumb: A. All outside walls are load-bearing.  B.  The load-bearing wall in a two or three family home is the typically in the center of the basement and has lally columns under it.  In fact, to qualify as a load-bearing wall it HAS to have lally columns between it and the finished basement floor.  See, that wasn't so hard.  =)


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## inspectorD

Bill when you say it's that easy it all makes sense....
All the contemperary homes I see are all easy to find load bearing walls.Right?Or what about the McMantions I deal with on a daily basis, All must be straight forward.
Bill I understand that a few of us here are builders and remodelers, most are not. This is where I cant seem to "Get the Grip" on where you would As a professional tell someone on this forum how to determine LOAD bearing walls. I would understand your explanation if all homes in you area are cookie cut.
I'm not going to give that advice however.

Licenced CT Contractor 20 years,
Licenced Home Inspector 8 years
NATIONAL Home Inspection Instructor 4 years

InspectorD


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## MinConst

Bill,
  I've been doing remodeling for over 30 years off and on. I still don't see this as a simple call. I use to think that a LB wall had to run to the basement like you explained but have since seen the need for walls to hold up things that are not through to the basement but still "need to stay". Yes most of the time a well supported opening can be built but well built is something learned not automatic. DIY people don't have the learned part so making a cookie cutter statement on load bearing is kinda scary. Best to have a professional look at the situation before loosing the roof.


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## BillsCatz

MinCost & Inspector D,

Pardon my forgetting that many people really don't understand the theory behind a load-bearing wall.  I've been doing this for a long time and such things just seem like common sense to me...  "Well, I didn't see any colimns with "Lally" written on them in the basement, so I cut them off!"  =)  Once barely saved an inlaw from wrecking his house because he thought the wall between the living room and dining room was just a partition wall.

You're right, get a licensed contractor in there to explain what's what and be safe.  Some newer construction also has supports that aren't specifically load-bearing but still hold a lot of weight on engineered beams.  

Bill


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## inspectorD

Hey there Bill,

As professionals I am glad we can all be on the same page.
When I became a Licenced Home Inspector the biggest problem I had for my clients was giving them to much information on how to fix things.
That is not a home inspectors JOB.
We point them to the professional once it goes beyond a maintinence situation. 
I have seen so many Harvy homeowner tricks and potions to start a how not to book!
I love inspecting ,, it teaches you what fails and what works over time.

Hmmmm.....now if I could only figure out this computer issue....

Honey call the geeks!!!!
InspectorD


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## PAULYBOY

Lemme get this straight- if the main beam in my floor runs the same line as my roof ridge, then the walls that are parallel to those are load bearing? Or the walls that run at 90 degrees to that are load bearing? My roof ridge and my main beam run front to back, with the 2 biggest walls and the longest running going inline with these inside the house.


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## Square Eye

I'm not trying to be smart. This subject has come up very often. The very best advice is to get someone who knows how to determine whether a wall is load bearing. Hire a pro for an afternoon or get one that you know to swing by and check it out. You can look at these links and get an idea of the typical response you will receive here. It is very hard to tell a person if a wall is load bearing without seeing it. There are just too many variables. There are good suggestions and clues to look for, but absolutely no-one on this forum can tell you with certainty whether your wall is load bearing without seeing it.

http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?t=359
http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?t=445
http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?t=360


Tom in KY


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## inspectorD

This was a good start, to a not so simple issue. Another thing you can do is to get your local building official out there to get you in the right direction. You do pay taxes don't you?


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## cassell

hello everyone i want to remove a load bearing wall connecting two rooms to make one. when removing the wall whats the best way to support the wall and joists above?


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## ToolGuy

cassell said:


> hello everyone i want to remove a load bearing wall connecting two rooms to make one. when removing the wall whats the best way to support the wall and joists above?



Hi Cassell, and welcome to the forums. 

You should start a new thread for this. We're all happy to help, but we also have to maintain some organization around here. The short answer to your question is to build a temporary wall, but no two situations are quite the same. Start a new thread so we can all discuss your particular situation.


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## mattlreese

I hired a structual Engineer that was highly recomended and it cost less then $500. I am capable of replaceing the load baring wall myself I just wanted to talk with a professional about the best way to go about doing it. He was very helpful and well worth the money. 

Even if you think you know what you are doing get a structural engineer.


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## inspectorD

Even us pro's need the engineer to size the beams once and a while. 
Now you can sleep at night.


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