Open floor plans are all the rage nowadays. But before you knock down your walls, you must determine if they are load-bearing. Removing a support wall unprompted can compromise your home’s structural integrity.
Load-bearing walls are structural supports that hold up the weight of your home. They’re designed to transfer the load of your house from its roof, through the floors, and down to the foundation.
Put your ear on the wall and gently tap on the surface. If it sounds hollow, it’s likely not a load-bearing wall. Most support walls are solid, so they should be muted when struck. But this method is not reliable.
Load-bearing walls are generally thicker than aesthetic partition walls. Hence, walls thinner than 15 cm may be non-load bearing. However, it’s best to consult a trained professional to confirm this hypothesis.
Most support walls run perpendicular to floor joists. If they’re parallel, they’re probably partition walls. You can also check the roof truss to see if it runs along (partition) or at 90 degrees (support) to the wall.
If you live in a multi-storied home, head to the basement or crawl space to check out the exposed floor joists. The walls that run perpendicular to them are the load-bearing ones.
Generally, support walls are directly attached to the foundation of a home. In case your house has additions, and you find that a wall is fixed to the base, it may have been an external wall: hence a load-bearing one.
It’s always a good idea to entrust load-bearing wall removals to a professional. As experts, they’ll know exactly which walls support your home and how to remove them without affecting its structural integrity.
Load-bearing wall removal is a risky business. Even minor mistakes and jeopardize the health of your home. The best way to avoid a murky situation is to hire a load-bearing wall removal specialist to take on the job.
Load Bearing Pros Offer Services For Removing Walls, Installation of Support Beams, and More. Contact Us for a Free estimate.
Call Load Bearing Pros at (385) 300-8322 for Load Bearing Wall Removal in Utah.