Removing a bearing wall?

[goaliedad]

Cooler- this house is built with old school rafters- not trusses. So, in a 27 foot span the ceiling joists need to be supported in the middle. The wall in question is providing that support.

Others may have a better rule of thumb, but if the wall runs in the same direction as the rafters/trusses it is not a bearing wall. Perpendicular to them, good bet it is bearing.

One sure way to find out- remove the wall in question. If the roof collapses, it was a bearing wall. Effective, yes. Recommended? Not much.

[goaliedad]

Update on my project:

I am going to talk to a local lumber yard to get an idea of what I need. I will then talk to the building inspector to see what he says I need. I expect that I will need to put proper footings in for the posts. Makes sense.

As much as I would like to do this without getting the inspector involved, there is no way I would do anything this substantial without permits. Plus, I most likely will be doing in floor radiant heat- and will be using a licensed Hvac guy for the install of the boiler/ water heater- so an inspector will be involved then. Really don't need to flirt with that disaster in the making. Really would not want them coming in and start asking lots of questions

Thanks for the input and suggestions

[rwe2156]

Update on my project:

I am going to talk to a local lumber yard to get an idea of what I need. I will then talk to the building inspector to see what he says I need. I expect that I will need to put proper footings in for the posts. Makes sense.

As much as I would like to do this without getting the inspector involved, there is no way I would do anything this substantial without permits. Plus, I most likely will be doing in floor radiant heat- and will be using a licensed Hvac guy for the install of the boiler/ water heater- so an inspector will be involved then. Really don't need to flirt with that disaster in the making. Really would not want them coming in and start asking lots of questions

Thanks for the input and suggestions

Good strategy.  This is something you don't want to make a mistake on.

[Stwood_]

Update on my project:

I am going to talk to a local lumber yard to get an idea of what I need. I will then talk to the building inspector to see what he says I need. I expect that I will need to put proper footings in for the posts. Makes sense.

As much as I would like to do this without getting the inspector involved, there is no way I would do anything this substantial without permits. Plus, I most likely will be doing in floor radiant heat- and will be using a licensed Hvac guy for the install of the boiler/ water heater- so an inspector will be involved then. Really don't need to flirt with that disaster in the making. Really would not want them coming in and start asking lots of questions

Thanks for the input and suggestions

 

Radiant floor heat is nice.

[Snipe Hunter]

How do you even know for sure that it is load bearing?  This is not a rhetorical question.   I want to take down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room.  It is in a ranch house.  There is understructure in the basement (steel beams and lolly columns).  But this wall is not over any of that structure.  Can I assume it is not load bearing?

In any event how did you determine that  your wall was load bearing?

Is your roof structure rafters or full length trusses? If it's rafters, it may or may not be load bearing. If it's trusses, it generally isn't load bearing. Some trusses built for partially vaulted ceilings may need a bearing wall under the center, at the bottom of the notch for the vaulted ceiling. Google "partial vaulted ceiling truss"

[Cooler]

Is your roof structure rafters or full length trusses? If it's rafters, it may or may not be load bearing. If it's trusses, it generally isn't load bearing. Some trusses built for partially vaulted ceilings may need a bearing wall under the center, at the bottom of the notch for the vaulted ceiling. Google "partial vaulted ceiling truss"

Thanks.  I will do that.  

The walls for the hallway run in the exact center of the house perpendicular with the rafters.  One of the walls sits directly over the steel column in the basement.  I have always assumed that they represented the load bearing wall/walls. 

The wall in question runs parallel witht he rafters and separates the kitchen from the dining room.  My guess is that since there is no special structure under that wall, that it is not load bearing.  I will probably call in a structural engineer before I take it out.

[Snipe Hunter]

Thanks.  I will do that.  

The walls for the hallway run in the exact center of the house perpendicular with the rafters.  One of the walls sits directly over the steel column in the basement.  I have always assumed that they represented the load bearing wall/walls. It usually represents that the hall in the center of the house makes it easier to have similar sized rooms on both sides of the hall. Moving it anywhere else would make your living space unusable.

The wall in question runs parallel witht he rafters and separates the kitchen from the dining room.  My guess is that since there is no special structure under that wall, that it is not load bearing.  I will probably call in a structural engineer before I take it out.

My "guess" is that your "guess" is correct. 99.99% chance it isn't load bearing if it's the top floor and you have truss roof construction.

You can always go into the attic and look to see if anything sits on top of it. I'll bet what you see under the insulation is nothing except maybe some cross ties between truss chords used to anchor the top of that wall to the ceiling. If the wall is actually fastened to a truss, it will (should) be done loosely. This way when the trusses expand and contract from seasonal temperature changes, the drywall tape joint between the ceiling and wall doesn't break. Bottom chords of trusses (under the insulation) move up in the winter and down in the summer (Google "Truss Uplift"). Because of this, the wall below it can't be securely fastened to the truss. Ite trusses need to move without damaging the ceiling. Sometimes, the top of the wall isn't fastened at all, it's simply held in place by the drywall on the ceiling and joint compound. If the ceiling drywall was installed correctly, there will be no nails/screws within 16" of the wall. Otherwise, when the bottom chord of the truss pops up in the winter, you'll get nail-pops near the wall.

It's good to look under the insulation where the wall terminates for several reasons: Might be wires, ducts or plumbing vents hidden in the wall. It's nice to know that stuff before you demo the wall.

You'll want to move that insulation anyway so it doesn't fall when removing the wall.