How Can You Tell If A Wall Is Actually A Load Bearing Wall Before Removing It?

Load-bearing walls always run perpendicular to the joists. If the joists are exposed (say, from an unfinished attic floor or basement ceiling), you can tell which way they run. If you can see floorboards, they usually run perpendicular to the joists.

The question is, how long are the joists? A joist rarely runs more than about 10 feet without extra support. (The length depends on the type of joist).

So if your known bearing walls (exterior) are more than 10 feet apart (and they almost always are), there's almost certainly a bearing wall in there somewhere, probably close to the center (unless it's a REALLY long span). For most houses, you can just figure out which way the joists run, then look for the wall that runs halfway through. If there's a gap in the wall, it won't go all the way up to the ceiling, but instead come down a foot or so where the header is.

The header is an extra-thick piece of wood (often 2x4s nailed together) that distribute the weight of the joist above the gap ... more.

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