Q&A for How to Tell if a Wall is Load Bearing

2x12 can span a good distance, but only so far. This is why you need interior walls, they are there to support long framing members.

No, it's never safe to assume the walls are non load bearing. Some walls could easily be bearing the roof weight.

Usually the walls on the eave side of the building are going to be load bearing. But if there is a second floor in this area, the closet walls could be supporting.

Go into the attic and clear the space above it. Then, check to see if the ceiling joists extend past the wall you want to remove. If they do, the wall isn't bearing the weight of the ceiling. If the joists only extend a little past the wall, you'll need to extend the ceiling joists to support the ceiling before you can remove that wall.

A few types include precast concrete walls, masonry walls, and retaining walls. Retaining walls are a special type of load bearing wall that can be used outdoors to prevent erosion.

This depends on a variety of factors, including what’s inside the wall (e.g., water or gas lines, electrical wiring) and what the wall is supporting. You will need to plan carefully to figure out how to redistribute the weight that was being supported by the wall.

Most likely it's not load-bearing, but check your attic to make sure there is no roof joist being supported over this wall; the ceiling joist will be on top of the partition.

Yes, it quite possibly could. Depending on the layout of the rooms, if the wall you are removing is indeed a load bearing wall, you may have to install some heftier beams to carry the load from the original wall out to the exterior walls and down. This could cause the floor in the rooms above to rise, or a drop in your ceiling height in the rooms below. You could also end up with a cool exposed beam look.

If it only spans the width of the doorway, it's only a header. Otherwise, it could be load bearing.

Trusses increase the span capability, but are no guarantee that you do not need support partway across the span. Read the above article and follow the guidelines. Any attempt by a reader to give definitive answers without detailed plans and/or an onsite inspection is a fool's errand.

More than likely you'll need a manufactured header rated for the load you have at the span you want. Contact your local lumber yard for specifics on info for manufactured headers.

Calculate the area first. The area can be cut into squares, and eventually triangles. Calculate them and add them up. Then multiply it with the height of the concrete.

Depending on the size of the work you want done, a reliable company will have to pass inspections done by the city, so in a way yes. A non-reliable company is one who would tell you that no inspections are necessary, and you'd want to call the inspectors on your own in that case.

Most of the time, your house is supported by your foundation and support beams found in your basement. Because of this, you should be able to assume that any studs found on exterior walls in your basement are not load bearing, and are simply there to provide a surface for drywall to be attached to and electrical and plumbing to be hidden behind. This is not necessarily true for interior walls that may have been cut. You should have a home inspector look at your house if any interior walls were cut.

I have a similar layout, and the wall in the middle of my house between kitchen and living room is load-bearing. It sits right on the main support beam going across the length of the house. That is a sure sign it is load-bearing.

Your safest way is to hire a contractor that has experience in placing beams across the opening so the load bearing capability still exists. It isn't a job for a DIY person. Plus, you may need a permit from your city, which the contractor can get.

This would depend on whether you're extending the beam to the right or left, or out. If you're going right or left wider, then yes, another header which is longer is needed. The header attaches to a king stud and directly below the header would be the Jack stud.