How Do You Know if a Wall in Your House Is Load Bearing

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When a house is built, load bearing and non-load bearing walls are created. The divergence betwixt these walls is what you'd probably imagine - some are responsible for shouldering the structural weight of the building, while others (oftentimes called "curtain walls") are purely for dividing rooms and don't hold anything up. Earlier modifying any walls in your domicile, it's important to be very sure which walls are and aren't load bearing, equally removing or modifying a load bearing wall can compromise your homes' structural stability with potentially disastrous consequences. This article provides data on how to discover the load begetting walls in your home.

1. one

   Showtime at the lowest point in your house. To begin determining which walls in your house are load-bearing ones, it's best to start at the most basic load-bearing feature of whatever habitation - the foundation. If your house has a basement, start here. If non, try to start wherever on the first floor yous tin can locate your house's lower concrete "slab."

   • Once you've reached your firm's everyman point, look for walls whose beams go directly into the concrete foundation. Your house's load bearing walls transfer their structural strain into a sturdy concrete foundation, and then whatsoever walls that interface direct with the foundation should exist assumed to be load bearing walls and should not exist removed.
   • Additionally, most home'south exterior walls are load bearing. You should encounter this at the foundation level - whether wood, rock, or brick, most all exterior walls will extend right into the concrete.

2. 2

   Locate the beams. Brainstorm to look for thick, sturdy pieces of wood or metal called beams. These account for the majority of your house's load, which they transfer into the foundation. Beams often stretch through multiple floors and thus can be parts of multiple walls. If your beam spans from the foundation through any wall above it, the wall is load bearing and should not be removed.

   • Except for in unfinished rooms, nigh beams will be behind drywall, and then exist set to consult construction documents or contact the builder if you cannot find them. Beams are often easiest to discover in an unfinished basement (or attic) where portions of the structure are exposed.

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3. 3

   Look for floor joists. Await at the bespeak where a beam meets the ceiling (if you're in the basement, this will exist the underside of the first floor of your home, while if you're on the beginning floor, this will exist the underside of the second floor). Yous should see long supports spanning the length of the ceiling which are called flooring joists because they back up the floor of the room to a higher place. If whatever of these joists see a wall or a main support axle at a perpendicular angle, they are transferring the weight of the floor above into the wall and, thus, the wall is load bearing and should not be removed.

   • Again, considering most walls' supports are behind drywall, they tin't be seen. To make up one's mind whether certain floor joists in your house run perpendicular to a given wall, y'all may need to remove a number of floorboards in the floor above the wall so you have an unimpeded view to look downwardly at the supports.

4. 4

   Follow internal walls up through your construction. Starting at the basement (or, if you don't have one, the first floor), locate your internal walls, which, equally you lot can probably approximate, are the walls inside your 4 external walls. Follow each internal wall upward through the floors of your home - in other words, locate exactly where a wall is on a lower floor, and so go to the floor above that spot to see whether the wall stretches through ii floors.^[one] Pay attention to what is directly in a higher place the wall. If at that place is some other wall, a floor with perpendicular joists, or other heavy structure above it, it is probably a load begetting wall.

   • Even so, if there is an unfinished space like an empty attic without a total flooring, the wall probably is not bearing a load.

5. 5

   Cheque for internal walls near the center of the business firm. The bigger a business firm is, the farther autonomously its load bearing exterior walls will be and, thus, the more load begetting internal walls at that place volition need to be to support the floor. Often, these load bearing walls are roughly near the eye of the house considering the heart of the house is the uttermost point from any of the exterior walls. Look for an internal wall that's most the relative center of your house. There's a practiced chance this wall is load bearing, specially if it runs parallel to a central basement back up beam.^[2]

6. 6

   Await for internal walls with big ends. Internal load bearing walls can contain the house's master back up beams into the structure of the wall itself. Still, considering these support beams are relatively big compared to not-load bearing studs, often, the wall itself volition exist designed to accommodate the extra size of the beam. If an internal wall has a large boxy section or an enlarged cavalcade at its end, this may be concealing a master structural support beam, a sign that the wall is load begetting.

   • Some of these structural features may announced decorative, just be skeptical - often, painted columns or narrow, embellished wooden structures tin can conceal beams that are highly important for a building's structural integrity.^[3]

7. 7

   Look for steel girders or post and axle construction. Sometimes, rather than rely on load begetting interior walls, builders use special load-bearing structures like steel support girders and post and axle constructions to transfer function or all of a building's weight to the exterior walls. In these cases, there is a gamble (but not a guarantee) that nearby interior walls may not be load bearing. Wait for the signs of large, sturdy wooden or metallic structures crossing a room's ceiling and intersecting a wall that you know is load begetting or an external wall, like boxy horizontal protrusions crossing the ceiling. If y'all encounter these, nearby internal walls may not be load begetting.

   • This method can give you a inkling of where non-load bearing walls might be, but you tin't exist sure without checking the walls themselves. If yous're unsure, bank check with the architect to be sure that this was the type of construction used.

8. 8

   Wait for evidence that the house has been modified. Many houses, peculiarly old ones, have been modified, expanded, and remodeled several times. If this is the case with your firm, a old external wall may now exist an internal wall. If so, this innocuous-looking internal wall tin be load bearing for the original construction. If you take whatever reason to believe your house has been significantly modified, it'southward best to contact the original builder, just to be certain that your external walls are your real external walls.

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1. 1

   Detect the original building plans, if they are available to you. Depending on the construction of your business firm, it may be impossible to accurately guess which walls are load bearing and which are not. In this case, your house's original blueprints or building plans can be a valuable resources. A house'south blueprints tin requite you an idea of where back up beams prevarication, which walls were the original outside walls, and more than. You tin use this information to inform your decisions when it comes to designating certain walls as load bearing.

   • It'due south not at all uncommon for homeowners non to possess a copy of their home's original blueprints. Luckily, blueprints for your domicile may be institute:
     • At the county clerk's function
     • In the possession of the original owners
     • In the possession of the original builder and/or contracting company
   • Finally, it's possible to committee a re-drawing of your home'due south blueprint from an architect. This, however, tin exist costly.

2. 2

   Study your blueprints. Procure your house's original blueprint and invest an advisable corporeality of time in determining whether a wall y'all're not sure about is load begetting. Look for the clues listed to a higher place - does it contain a major support axle? Are floor joists connected parallel to it? Was it an original external wall? Never tear downwardly a wall until y'all're confident it's not load bearing, as even experienced home improvement experts can't always tell where a load bearing wall is solely based on visual cues. Come across wikiHow's guide on reading architectural drawings for more than information.

3. iii

   Understand the effect of modifications to the habitation. Generally, the more renovations your home has had, the harder it will be to tell which walls are load bearing and which are not. During abode renovations, non-load begetting walls can exist made to bear weight (and vice versa). For case, hanging or cut ceiling joists, adding stairways, and adding attic rooms unremarkably crave the changing of non-load begetting walls to load begetting walls. Take these changes into account when deciding which walls are load bearing - if your blueprints show walls that don't exist anymore or you see walls in your home which don't appear in the blueprint, effigy out what kinds of modifications have been washed earlier proceeding.

   • If you're unsure about your habitation's history of renovations, contact previous owners and builders for more than information.

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1. one

   Call the original builder, if you can. The person (or visitor) that built your house can clue you in on the exact construction of the house. If construction was contempo, they may not even charge you for a quick call or consultation. Even if they practice, go along in mind that a relatively pocket-sized fee is goose egg compared to the disastrous structural damage that can upshot from tearing down a load bearing wall.

2. two

   Call a building inspector if you have any doubts. If you can't figure out which walls are load bearing and no i y'all phone call seems to know, you lot may want to hire a professional person building inspector. Paying for an hour of a building inspector's fourth dimension is definitely worth it if you want to remodel safely.

   • Dwelling house inspections typically cost several hundred dollars.^[iv] This rate can vary depending on the market and the size of the firm - some high-cease estimates can be as high as $ane,000.

3. iii

   Hire a dwelling house remodel consultant. Some independent companies offer their services to help would-exist habitation improvers make up one's mind how to go along with their project. These companies may employee construction managers, interior decorators, and other experienced home comeback experts. When it comes to modifying a wall that y'all're not sure is load begetting, these companies may be able to tell y'all what changes are possible, what changes are unsafe, or fifty-fifty answer the question of whether the wall is load begetting or not outright. If you're interested in this route, research companies in your area online to ensure yous pick a credible, reliable company.

4. 4

   Above all, use caution. Avoid removing a wall yourself unless you are extremely confident it is non bearing a load. As stated before, removing a load bearing wall can cause structural weakening and even potentially life-threatening structural plummet. Go on in mind that renovations are semi-permanent, and so removing non-load bearing walls may change what additions you tin brand to your home in the future.

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• Question

  I have a unmarried-story home with a flat roof. It has 2x12 forest joists that are 16" autonomously. The roof is foam on summit. Are my interior walls load bearing?

  

  Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over xxx years of construction experience, Marking specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and projection estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

  

  Construction Professional

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• Question

  I take empty attic space above the dining room, kitchen, and living room, and a second floor over the remainder of the house. Is it safe to say the walls nether the empty attic space are not load bearing?

  

  Marking Spelman is a Full general Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over xxx years of construction experience, Mark specializes in amalgam interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional person since 1987.

  

  Construction Professional

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• Question

  Our garage has a closet on 1 end. How do I know if these walls are load bearing?

  

  Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

  

  Structure Professional

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• Question

  What's the easiest manner to find out if a wall is load-bearing?

  

  Agustin Renoj is a Abode Improvement Specialist with Renoj Handyman based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 18 years of construction experience, Agustin specializes in carpentry, painting, and exterior, interior, kitchen, and bath renovations. Renoj Handyman is a family unit-endemic concern that consists of craftsmen trained in all areas of structure.

  

  Home Improvement Specialist

  Skilful Answer

  

  Back up wikiHow past unlocking this expert answer.

  Go into the cranium and clear the space above information technology. Then, check to see if the ceiling joists extend past the wall y'all want to remove. If they do, the wall isn't bearing the weight of the ceiling. If the joists only extend a fiddling by the wall, you'll need to extend the ceiling joists to support the ceiling before you can remove that wall.

• Question

  What are some types of load begetting walls?

  

  This reply was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Answer

• Question

  How much of a load bearing wall can be removed?

  

  This answer was written past one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accurateness and comprehensiveness.

  

  wikiHow Staff Editor

  Staff Answer

  

  Back up wikiHow by unlocking this staff-researched answer.

  This depends on a variety of factors, including what's inside the wall (east.g., water or gas lines, electrical wiring) and what the wall is supporting. You will need to programme carefully to figure out how to redistribute the weight that was beingness supported by the wall.

• Question

  My bedroom wall doesn't have a wall below information technology. Does that mean it's non load-bearing?

  

  About likely it's not load-bearing, but check your cranium to make certain there is no roof joist beingness supported over this wall; the ceiling joist will be on tiptop of the partition.

• Question

  If I want to catechumen 2 rooms into a single room by taking out the dividing wall, will it touch on the rooms above them?

  

  Yes, it quite maybe could. Depending on the layout of the rooms, if the wall you are removing is indeed a load bearing wall, you may accept to install some heftier beams to bear the load from the original wall out to the exterior walls and down. This could cause the floor in the rooms above to ascension, or a drib in your ceiling height in the rooms beneath. Yous could too stop upward with a absurd exposed axle await.

• Question

  I accept a washroom area in my kitchen that I want to convert into a fridge and cabinet area. The room has double bi-folding doors; would the beam over the doors exist consider a load bearing wall?

  

  If it simply spans the width of the doorway, it's only a header. Otherwise, information technology could be load bearing.

• Question

  I accept been told that if I have trusses, and so my interior walls are not necessary for load begetting. I want to open up up the kitchen to the living room and there is a wall between them. Can I safely take out that wall?

  

  Greg Yard Simmons

  Customs Answer

  Trusses increase the span capability, merely are no guarantee that you do non need support partway across the span. Read the above article and follow the guidelines. Whatever try by a reader to give definitive answers without detailed plans and/or an onsite inspection is a fool's errand.

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Things You'll Need

• Building blueprints
• Remodeling information
• Architect
• Building inspector

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Article Summary X

To tell if a wall is load bearing, examine the edifice'due south blueprints to see where the original support beams were congenital. If you lot don't accept a copy of your blueprints, check your local county clerk'south role. Internal walls almost the centre of a building oft help to support the weight of the house. You may also be able to use a stud-finder to locate whatsoever beams which run down into your foundation or up through multiple floors of your abode, which indicate that a wall is probable load-bearing. If y'all're still not certain, call a building inspector to come up and evaluate your home. To learn more, such equally how to tell if a wall is load-bearing by looking at the floor joists, proceed reading!

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