structural or not ?

Question

I am planning to open up kitchen a little but. the house is a brick ranch built in 50s. the joists run perpendicular to the studs I plan to take out. the red lines are the way the joist are running from one wall to the other. the blue crosses depict studs I plan to eliminate. do you think any of the studs are load bearing ? all pictures depict the same kitchen. thanks

Roy N. · Answer

@Robert D.

Are the external brick walls carrying the ceiling trusses and rafters?   Is the house structural brick (there is no stick framed wall inside the brick)?   If so, you are 100% guaranteed that centre wall is load bearing.    You're response to by prior question about a carrier beam in the basement underneath that wall was also a sure sign ... along with ceiling joists spanning the entire width of the house .... I have a hunch they do not run the full width, but are two separate lengths carried on that wall.

You can remove a 6 - 10' section of that wall,  but you will have to engineer it:  new header  and point loads taken all the way to footings in the basement (Note: this may require adding posts under the beam in the basement).

As I said above, time for an engineer.

Roy N. · Answer

In addition to Jason's comments.

Does the house have a basement?

Is there a carrier beam with support posts underneath this first level floor which aligns with this wall.  Is so, you've a 99% chance it is load bearing.

That does not mean you cannot some or most of that wall, but you will have to put a beam across that span (LVL or steel) and ensure the load is carried all the way down to footings under the house.   Time to consult an engineer.

Gilbert Dominguez · Answer

Take it that the 2X4 wall is load baring. However you can install a couple of large footings at the end of each wall and install a beam, maybe a steel I bean into the ceiling and to which the cross ceiling joists connect using joist hangers. This will allow you to properly support the overhead weight plus support your ceiling joist expansion lengths. I would check this with a structural engineer.

J Scott · Answer

If the joists above are running perpendicular to that wall, it's reasonable to assume (without any additional information) that the wall is load-bearing.

Two things you can check:

1.  If there's a single top plate along that wall, it's not load-bearing.  If there's a double top plate, it still may or may not be (many framers will use double-top plates for all walls, load-bearing or not.

2.  If you have a stick-framed roof, it's almost certainly load-bearing. If you have a truss roof, it may not be (though the truss may have been designed to need support).

Roy N. · Answer

A double 2x4 plate will be insufficient to cover a span of 8'.  Code requirements in most places will be a minimum of a double 2x8 or 2x10 ... then there is the transfer of the loads to footings.

Doesn't matter what we think ... structure is no place to cut corners.  Having an engineer take measurements, do a few calculations and recommend a solution will not cost that much.

A local flipper renovated a 1950s bungalow not to far from my personal residence.  He took the wall out between the kitchen (back of house) and living/dining rooms (front of house) and even had an LVL fabricated to carry the ceiling joists and rafters across the 14'(ish) span.  He did not have an engineer calculate the loads and, in consequence, did not get the load transfer to the foundation correct.

Less than three years later, the ceiling and original floor have a noticeable slop and the new homeowners are tearing apart their house to have the loads correctly handled.   As for the flipper, I would not be surprised if this ends-up costing him significantly.

J Scott · Answer

Almost certainly load-bearing.  As Roy said, you can remove part of it, though you'll need to disperse the extra load to the rest of the structure and/or footings.  An engineer can do the math and tell you what sized beams to install and where.

Robert D. · Answer

yes. there is a steel I beam with metal posts (support) running from one wall to the other. the way the carrier beam runs is perpendicular to the roof joists.

I dont remove a lot of wall ..maybe 6' total.

Robert D. · Answer

there are no trusses - its a stick framed roof. the joists span across the whole house from one brick wall to the other.

structural or not ?

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