how do i identify a load barring wall?
Answers:
All exterior walls are load bearing. If the ceiling joists run over the top of the wall (as opposed to parallel), it's load bearing. You can check this by looking in your attic, or using a stud finder. Most long expanses of wall in a home, are load bearing. If your house is 30'x60', the bearing walls would run the 60' length.
Other answers:
pull it down you find it quickly. lol
pull it down you find it quickly. lol
It is Load Bearing. The 2 x 4's run horizontally and attach to other
2x4 s. You do not want to "remove" one. I can stand in a room and identify them and my house is very abstract with lots of walls and heights and spaces. Ask a contractor if you are not sure.
The load bearing walls are generally in the middle of your house, that and of course the outside walls. If you have an attic you can check from above and see if the joists break in that wall...Be careful
you will have to go up into or at least look in your attic and you will see bracing from your rafers to the ceiling joistsand if any are on a run or there are several in a row then that will be the load wall directly beneath them
We always went up into the attic and looked at the joists.
floor beams usually run to the sides of the building..therefore usually all beams running from the front to the rear can be supporting beams for the floor above...hallways rooms etc but all will be in the same direction..the width of the building determines the need for a load bearing wall...
Listen to carpenter...load bearing walls always run perpendicular to joists, (either ceiling or second story floor). If the wall you want to remove is load bearing, you must install a beam and posts to support it. This is not a DIY king of thing. Load bearing calculations are complicated and boring...this is why there are structural engineers.
go into your roof space in the ceiling and look to see if the wall in question is supporting any of the roof barers if it is then its a load bearing wall
bear down is right.
Actually BearDown was close, but left out some considerations. Sadly, most houses these days are built with trusses. You have to make sure you look closely at the truss over the wall you are questioning. It may look like they are resting on all walls going accross the house, but that is rarely the case. They are required to be at least 1/2" above most walls because they usually only rest on 2-3 walls, occasionally more than that. It is deceptive if you do not get very close and make sure.