When a house is built, it has both load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls. The difference between them, as you understand, is that some of them are responsible for supporting the entire structural weight of the structure, while others, the so-called "curtain" or "curtain walls", are used exclusively to divide rooms into rooms and nothing support. Before making any changes to the walls of your home, it is important to be very sure which walls are and which are not load-bearing, as demolition or changes in load-bearing walls can affect the structural stability of your home with potentially catastrophic consequences. Start with Step 1 below to begin your search for load-bearing walls in your home.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Looking for structural clues
Step 1. Start at the lowest point of your house
To determine which walls in your home are load-bearing, it is best to start where the main load is applied, from the most basic part of your home - from the foundation. If your home has a basement, start here. If not, try starting from the first floor, where you can locate the lowest concrete "slab".
- When you are at the very bottom of your building, look at the walls, the beam system of which rests directly on the foundation. The load-bearing walls of your home transmit the tension of their structure to a solid concrete foundation, so any walls that are directly on the foundation must be considered load-bearing and cannot be demolished.
- In addition, the outer walls of the house in most houses are load-bearing. You can see this at the foundation level - whether they are made of wood, stone or brick, almost all of the outer walls rest directly on the foundation.
Step 2. Determine the location of the beam system
Look for thick, sturdy posts made of wood or metal called beams. They carry most of the load on your home, transferring it to the foundation. Beams often stretch across many floors and therefore can be part of multiple walls. If your beam extends from the foundation inside any wall above it, that wall must be considered load-bearing and must not be demolished.
Except for rooms that are not yet finished, most of the beams will be behind the trim. So be prepared to check the construction documents or contact the builder if you cannot find one. The easiest way to find beams is in the basement or attic, where they are not covered
Step 3. Look for floor beams (floor beams)
Look at the point where the beam meets the ceiling (if you are in the basement, this will be under the first floor of your house. If you are on the first floor, this will be the bottom of the second floor). You should see long supports that run the length of the ceiling, called floor ledgers because they support the floor of the room above you. If any such crossbar meets a wall or main load-bearing beam at a right angle, it transfers the weight of the upper floor to the wall, which means that the wall is load-bearing and, accordingly, cannot be demolished.
Again, due to the fact that most of the beams supporting the walls are covered with trim, they will not be visible. To determine if any floor beams are perpendicular to a particular wall, it may be necessary to remove some of the floorboards one floor above the wall so that you can look down at their supports
Step 4. View the interior walls of the entire structure
Starting in the basement (or, if you don't have one, on the first floor), locate the inner walls, which, as you might have guessed, are the walls within the boundaries of your four outer walls. Trace each interior wall across all floors of your home - in other words, pinpoint exactly where the wall is in relation to the bottom floor, then go upstairs to see if the wall goes through two floors. Pay attention to what is directly above the wall. If there is another wall on top, a floor with perpendicular beams, or another heavy structure, then it is probably a load-bearing wall.
However, if there is an unfinished room, for example, an empty attic, and not an entire floor, most likely the wall is not heavily loaded
Step 5. Check the interior walls around the center of the house
The larger the house, the farther apart its load-bearing walls will be, and therefore the more internal load-bearing walls you will need to support the floor. Often these internal load-bearing walls are located approximately in the center of the house, as this is the farthest point from any of its external walls. Look for an interior wall that is close to the approximate center of your home. There is a high probability that the wall is load-bearing, especially if it is parallel to the central beams supporting the basement vault.
Step 6. Look for interior walls with massive edges
Internal load-bearing walls can contain the main beams that support the house. However, due to the fact that the support beams are relatively large in cross-section, in comparison with unloaded beams, often the wall itself will be designed so that the dimensions of the beams will protrude from it. If the inner wall has a large rectangular section or columns protruding beyond its plane at the ends, large supporting beams that support the building structure can be hidden in them, that is, these are signs of a load-bearing wall.
Some of these structural features may be decorative, but be skeptical - often painted columns or narrow decorated structures within themselves will hide beams that are critical to the structural integrity of a building
Step 7. Look for steel girders or pile joists
Sometimes, rather than relying on load-bearing internal walls, builders use special load-bearing structures, such as steel support beams and pile-and-beam structures, in order to transfer some of the building's weight to the external walls. In these cases, there is a chance (but not a guarantee) that the nearest internal walls will not be load-bearing. Look for signs of large, sturdy wood or metal structures crossing the ceiling of a room and extending into a wall known to be structural or external, such as three-dimensional, horizontal protrusions that cross the ceiling. If you see them, the nearest interior walls may not be load-bearing.
This method can tell you where curtain walls might be, but you can't be sure without checking the walls themselves. If you are unsure, ask the builder to be sure the house was designed this way
Step 8. Look for signs that the house has been remodeled
Many houses, especially old ones, have been changed, expanded and rebuilt several times. If this applies to your home, the former outer wall can now be the inner wall. If so, the innocent-looking interior wall could be the supporting structure for the original structure. If you have any reason to believe that your home has been seriously altered, your best bet is to contact the builder who did it, just to be sure that your exterior walls are indeed exterior walls.
Part 2 of 3: Explore your building
Step 1. Find the original floor plans if you can access them
Depending on the design of your home, it may be impossible to guess exactly which walls are load-bearing and which are not. In this case, original drawings or construction plans can be a valuable source. House drawings can tell you where the supporting beams are located, which walls were originally external, and so on. You can use this information to make an informed decision when it comes to structural designation of certain walls.
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It's not uncommon for a homeowner to own a copy of the original blueprints for their home. Fortunately, you can find them:
- In the office of the relevant official structures (for example, BTI)
- For former owners
- From the original builder and / or contractor
- After all, you can pay an architect to sketch the blueprints for your home. It can be expensive though.
Step 2. Examine your drawings
Get hold of the original blueprints for your home and invest the appropriate time to determine if it really is a load-bearing wall that you are not sure about. Look for the landmarks listed above - does it contain a structural structural beam? Are the floor ledgers connected parallel to it? Was it originally an outer wall? Never break the integrity of a wall if you are not completely sure that it is not load-bearing, as even expensive, experienced home remodeling experts cannot tell from a visual inspection alone. For more detailed instructions, read the wikiHow article How to Read Architectural Drawings.
Step 3. Understand the implications of the changes you make to the building
Usually, the more new things have been introduced into your home design, the more difficult it is to tell which walls are load-bearing and which are not. During house renovation, non-load bearing walls can be made load-bearing (and vice versa). For example, lengthening or trimming ceiling beams, adding stairs, living rooms in the attic, as a rule, makes the walls of non-load-bearing structures. Take these changes into account when deciding which walls you have supporting: if your drawings show walls that do not exist, or you see walls that were not in the original drawing, you need to find out what changes were made before making your changes.
If you are unsure of the history of your home's remodeling, contact the past owner and builders for more information
Part 3 of 3: Getting outside help
Step 1. Call the original builder if you can
The person (or organization) who built your home may have an idea of the exact structure of the building. If the structure was recently erected, you may not even be charged for a short phone call or consultation. Even if they do, remember that a relatively small fee is nothing compared to the catastrophic destruction of the structure that can occur as a result of the demolition of a load-bearing wall.
Step 2. If you have the slightest doubt, call the building inspector
If you can't figure out which walls are load-bearing and you don't have someone you know to call about, you can hire a professional building inspector. Paying an hour for a building inspector is definitely worth it if you want to make a safe renovation.
Correctly, a building inspection costs several hundred dollars. This rate depends on the market value and size of the building - some modern buildings can cost as much as $ 1,000 to inspect
Step 3. Hire a renovation consultant
Some independent companies offer their services to help renovation owners decide which side to approach their projects. These companies may have foremen, interior designers and other experienced home remodeling specialists on staff. When it comes to changing a wall that you are not sure of the load-bearing role, these companies will be able to tell you which changes are possible, which changes are dangerous, and even unambiguously answer your question, whether the wall is load-bearing or not. If you are interested in this option, do a little online research on companies in your area to be sure you are choosing a trustworthy, reliable company.
Step 4. First of all, be careful
Avoid demolishing the wall yourself until you are fully confident that it is not carrying the load. As noted above, demolition of a load-bearing wall can cause structural weakening and even potentially life-threatening structural failure. Remember that all renovations can be considered only half final, therefore the demolition of a curtain wall may affect the possibility of changing the house in the future.
What do you need
- Building drawings
- Parameters for the future reconstruction of the house
- Builder
- Construction inspector