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susiemw

load bearing wall? who to ask

susiemw
11 years ago

Hi all,

What type of professional would I consult to see if a wall in my home is a load bearing wall?

Susan

Comments (5)

  • Jm_seattle
    11 years ago

    A structural engineer is who you really want. But a general contractor may be able to tell you, and you also may be able to figure it out yourself. The first step is to figure out which way the joists are running above the wall in question. If they're running parallel to the wall, then the wall is almost certainly not a load bearing wall (as it would only be able to hold up one joist). It's a similar story for the joists below the wall (as a load bearing wall should spread its weight across many floor joists or a support beam).

    Sometimes, you can figure out which way the joists are running just by looking (say, if there is attic access above or basement / crawl space access below). Another clue is the ridge line of the roof (which is almost always perpendicular to the joists that hold it up).

    In other cases, the only way to know for sure is to put some holes in the ceiling. Our GC could clearly see where we needed a load bearing wall (as our old floor was sagging, and one had likely been improperly removed over the years), but was unable to tell us whether another wall was load bearing without some holes (which we declined to do before the project started, and instead just made a contingency plan in case it was).

  • susiemw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks JM,

    The attic joists and the ridge line of the roof are both perpendicular to the wall in question.

    Susan

  • snoonyb
    11 years ago

    While the perpendicular/parallel follow the rules of probability, a little time in the attic and the answers to the following will give a greater sense of the conditions. A visit to the building dept. may, if they were kept, avail you a set of the original building plans, and/or, the builder.

    "If you have a basement with a center support beam and this wall occurs above that beam, either parallel or perpendicular with the floor joists, it could be load bearing.

    If your house is single story, in the attic, if the ceiling joists continue over it, end over it, are spliced over it, or you have roof bracing landing on it, It's a bearing wall. If the ceiling joist are parallel with the wall and you have roof bracing landing on it, It's a bearing wall.

    If there is a 2nd floor above the wall, you have two options. You can remove a section of ceiling on both sides of the wall to determine if the 2nd floor, floor joists, cross it or end over it. If so, Its load bearing. Or you can use a stud finder to determine the location and direction of the joists."

    Here is a link that should be of assistance;
    [url]http://www.awc.org/pdf/WCD1-300.pdf[/url]

  • susiemw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Snoonyb,

    My cottage started life as a one room fishing shack that got added on to ramshackle fashion over the year. I suspect the building dept. won't be much help. :)

    It does have a small dormer on the second floor that has two small attics on either side of the dormer.

    No basement. Part of the house is on a cement slab and part over a small crawl space .

    I'm out of state right now so when I get home at the end of the week I'll do some snooping!

    Thank you for the reply.

    Susan

  • snoonyb
    11 years ago

    "snooping!"

    And thats the key to knowing the beast.

    Good luck.