How To Tell If A Wall Is Load Bearing Attic

If a wall doesn t have any walls posts or other supports directly above it it s far less likely that it s load bearing.

How to tell if a wall is load bearing attic.

When joists trusses are perpendicular to the wall and bear o n the top of the wall that wall is bearing wall. How to recognize a load bearing wall from the attic. This is also true when looking in the attic. An example of a load bearing wall call be seen on the right.

Making sure any wall you plan to remove isn t load bearing is incredibly important. Any part of a load bearing wall that is removed must be replaced with a suitable structural support such as a beam and or columns to bear the same load that was supported by the wall. Also notice how the non load bearing walls from the picture above are parallel to the wall framing in the picture below. Pay attention to what is directly above the wall.

An example of a non load bearing partition wall can be seen on the left. If there is another wall a floor with perpendicular joists or other heavy construction above it it is probably a load bearing wall. Without having the plans for the house on hand it is not always easy to recognize whether or not a wall is load bearing. In the attic look down at the ceiling joists and ask yourself these.

Use the following steps to identify a load bearing wall. If you don t have access to your attic you can always look at your. If the wall in question is parallel to the joists trusses it will likely not be load bearing. But if you remove or even cut open a bearing wall you can literally bring down the house.

If you answered yes to either of those questions the wall on the floor above is most likely load bearing. If you don t have a basement or have a finished ceiling take a look at your home s structure from the attic. Check the joists or rafters in your basement or attic. You can do anything you like to a non bearing wall.

It all depends on the shape of the house its size and the number of floors it has. Finding load bearing walls is not always an easy task.