I want to remove a wall separating my living room from my dining room. I live in a 100 year old home. The wall is on the first floor of a two story with attic. The floor joists run parallel to the wall. How can I tell if the wall is load-bearing?
2007-03-26 17:12:36 · 7 answers · asked by keepingitvague 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Decorating & Remodeling
I would ask a contractor to come in and look at it. You can tell them you are getting bids on it, and then if they say it is possible, just do it yourself.
2007-03-26 17:20:20 · answer #1 · answered by GEE-GEE 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
joist do not determine load bearing. Your roof line and any walls above the particular wall determine load. First look in your basement/ crawl space and look for some wood or steel beams. Even double or triple joist, this is for single floor loads only. This determines the MAIN load wall. Now determine for yourself if there is another wall "stacked" on top of the wall you want to remove. If you do not have a second floor look in the attic for a 2x going from the roof to the wall you want to move. If none of these fit a description of your wall then it is not load bearing and is safe to remove. If they fit there are still ways around it so that you can remove it, like using micro lam as a header to carry the load, but I would contact an architect to help you decide the best option. A quick reference for load is that most houses are designed for the main hallway to be the load bearing walls,but not always. Almost forgot , make sure that there are no joist "breaking" on the wall that you want to move. When joist "break" it means in terms that is where two joist line up end to end to cover two rooms. If they do then they will have to be replaced to span the distance. 2x8s or 2x10s may be needed if the span is way long. Good Luck
2007-03-26 18:05:33 · answer #2 · answered by carpenterslavemoney 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Which way are the ceiling joists running? You say floor joists but have you been in the basement, crawl space? What part of the country are you in? The floor joists should run front to back perpendicular to the load bearing walls. If it's parallel, then it's not a load bearing wall.
2007-03-26 17:26:18 · answer #3 · answered by bubbasmith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask for a contractor to come in and give you a free inspection as to whether the wall is loadbearing or not. Even if you wanted to do it yourself, you would require a permit and contractor anyways, to remove a wall, as any electrical would need to be professionally removed.
If the wall IS loadbearing, professionals can still remove it by raising a large beam across the opening to create support. I have seen it done on many home-improvement shows, so it IS possible. Just make sure to get a professionals opinion.
2007-03-30 23:37:23 · answer #4 · answered by myksha2001 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
non everlasting wallpaper? and you ought to pay the paperhanger $80/hr to hold it(greater or much less and it particularly is in all possibility greater. Paperhanger has no undertaking with that. yet i think of you would be fairly P.O.'d there is detachable wallpaper. and that's lots of the vinyl coated ones. it rather is going to say strippable. yet how that works is ...in case you seem on the glue fringe of the of the prepasted wallpaper...it particularly is a paper that's off white devoid of trend. So, in case you carry it, while it comes time to do away with it you utilize a snap razor and down by way of the baseboard or backside trim you separate the trend from the paper(that's glued on) and heavily elevate it as much as the ceiling strip by way of strip. Your trend is off and the glued paper continues to be. it particularly is painted or wallpapered on as is for it particularly is a superbly flat floor. The glue won't enable bypass. Taking that paper off has similarities to removing the paper on drywall. That paper replaced into meant to stay there. So attempt harder to understand "why you may not do what you elect to do" in the event that they provide you a reason that they are happy with, then you definitely can constantly bypass someplace else. Or carry a (in case you're there) wall curtain drape) against that wall like dividers in an place of work..
2016-10-20 00:40:05 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is very risky to remove wall of 100 year old house. If there are beams and pillars only then you can remove internal wall but very carefully. but if no beams and pillars then i suggest not to remove the walls or you can help an architect.
2007-03-26 17:22:20 · answer #6 · answered by vineet.nagpal 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ask a building contractor.
2007-04-03 14:50:42 · answer #7 · answered by LINDA D. 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋