How Do I Locate A Load Bearing Wall?
Hello, The short answer: there’s no easy way to identify load-bearing walls; even professionals sometimes have difficulty determining if a wall is or is not load-bearing. So if you’re asking this question because you’re about to knock down a seemingly light wall, consider hiring a structural engineer to check it first. OK, now that the lecture is over, answer the question already, right? OK: most but not all exterior walls are load-bearing (might be just the front and back walls that are load-bearing). Then there are hip-roofed homes, where the second floor is smaller than the first floor, meaning all exterior walls carry some of the load. Now for interior walls. Most frequently, interior walls that run perpendicular to the floor joists are load-bearing. But, again I stress, this might not be the case with your home. Moreover, bearing walls are not always stacked on top of one another, so even finding a bearing wall on one floor doesn’t make its sister wall a sure candidate. Also, don’
