Expert: Ted Barnhill (Principal, Design45 LLC) - 4/30/2008

Question
We bought a Deltec home almost 2 years ago, and would like to remove a wall between two rooms and are unsure if this is a bearing wall. Do I need the blueprints of the house to make sure?

Answer
Cheryl-

If you have the home's original plans, the loadbearing walls can be easily identified.  However, even without them a designer, architect, or a knowledgeable contractor can normally determine the structural basics of a home without opening up any walls.  Your Deltec home is a special case, because as a prefabricated "systems-built" home it is probably a model that they repetitively build, rather than a custom design.  As such, you can probably contact Deltec for a drawing showing which, if any, of your interior walls are load bearing.

Good luck, and feel free to post followup questions.  -Ted