Is my wall load-bearing? Clues to look for, and who can confirm it

A load-bearing wall carries weight from above: a floor, a ceiling with storage, or the roof. A partition wall only separates rooms. From the room side, both look the same, so the answer comes from what is above and below the wall.

Clues that a wall may be load-bearing

• Joists or rafters rest on it: in the attic or the basement, the joists stop on top of the wall or overlap above it, rather than running past it.
• It sits under another wall or a beam: walls stacked from floor to floor often carry loads down to the foundation.
• There is a beam, girder or foundation wall directly below it in the basement or crawl space.
• It runs near the middle of the house, perpendicular to the floor joists.
• It is an exterior wall: exterior walls almost always carry the roof and floors.

None of these clues is proof. Roof trusses, for example, usually span from exterior wall to exterior wall, yet some designs bear on an interior wall. Point loads from a post upstairs can also land on a wall you thought was a partition.

Who can confirm it?

A licensed structural engineer or an experienced framing contractor can tell by looking at the framing above and below, sometimes after opening a small section of ceiling. If the wall is load-bearing, the beam, posts and footings must be sized, either from code tables for simple cases or by an engineer, and most building departments want that on the permit plans.

What to have ready

Photos of the wall from both sides, the attic or basement framing above and below it, the width of the opening you want and the age of the house help a pro answer faster.

Next steps

If the wall turns out to be load-bearing, read permits and engineering, then describe your wall in the form: local engineers and contractors get back to you.