How can I tell if a wall is load bearing?

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-identify-a-load-bearing-wall-1626923331

Call a licensed contractor for quotes on what you want to do. They will tell you and give you an estimate. If the estimate is out of your budget you don't have to do the work.

Invest in getting a structural engineer out to tell you about the structure of your home. Removing walls is not as easy peasy as seen on reno TV.

Invest in getting a structural engineer out to tell you about the structure of your home. Removing walls is not as easy peasy as seen on reno TV.

You need to bring in professional help. An engineer who designs houses would be best but an experienced building contractor would likely be able to steer you in the right direction.

You can. You need to get a builder, carpenter, or structural engineer to check it out for you. That means a trip through the attic or a hole in the wall. Even if it is load bearing, a new beam should not cost an arm and a leg.

Another possibility is for you to tear the wall down up to within a foot or two of the ceiling there. The beam is still in place, and you drywall over the space left. You leave a vertical beam on each side. The kink in this is, sometimes there is a vertical beam (or 4”x4”) in the middle of the wall.

In any case, electric lines and perhaps water, gas, h/vac and other lines may need to be diverted. We took down our wall, needed to have the beam installed, moved all the above lines except water, had to have a certified plumber to take out gas line, had a construction crew to do it (as well as a bunch more), and we have not regretted it a bit. Our wall included a double-sided has/wood fireplace we never used. I do miss having two mantles to decorate, but i found other places for stockings. Best wishes 😇

Go up to the attic and see which way the floor studs are running. If they are running the same way as your wall, it is non load bearing. If the floor studs run at right angle to the wall, it is load bearing.

"Look at the Floor Joists. If you can see the floor joists, either from the basement looking up to the first floor, or from the attic looking down to the floor below, note their direction. A load-bearing wall will often be perpendicular to floor joists." (perpendicular or opposite direction)

For instance, in my garage, the floor joists are running across the top of the garage. There is a header running in the opposite direction (from front to back of my garage) under which are metal posts holding up the floor above, indicating that this is holding up a load bearing wall...that particular wall is for my kitchen and runs down through my den! I cannot take out that wall unless I put a large header all the way through the house to hold up the second floor.

Look at this site...it answers many questions on load bearing walls!

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+can+you+tell+if+a+wall+is+load+bearing&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&oq=how+can+you+tell+if+a+wall+is+load+bearing&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.7663j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8