Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 10/2/2010

Question
Hello,
I have a bi level house that was buildin the 1970's.  My home is one that is chopped up into many rooms.  I would like to make the finished basement bedroom larger with a walk in closet.  The wall I would like to knock out is one dividing two rooms. The wall runs east to west and only half way across the home stopping at a hallway. How can I tell if this is a weight bearing wall since I wont be able to see it from the attic area.

Thanks Jrose

Answer
Hi jrose, depending on the width of your house you probably have one main load bearing wall in the basement or a single beam running through the middle of the basement supported by columns.  Most builders in the 70's used 2x10 or 2x12 floor joists which have a span up to 12 feet for 2x10 and 14 feet for 2x12.  Obviously if your house is 24 feet wide then the bearing wall downstairs is somewhere around 12 feet from the outside wall.  This is possibly one of the hallway walls if the hallway runs the full length of the house.  From your information that's the best answer I can give without knowing the exact layout of the home.  Another more proactive approach is to open up the basement ceiling in the proximity of the wall you want to remove and look at how your joists are supported.  If they seem to break on the wall you want to remove then it is a bearing wall.  If they run parallel to the wall you want to remove and there is just some blocking between the joists to keep the top of the wall stablilized then it is not a bearing wall.  At this point if there is still doubt you should probably have an engineer take a look at your particular situation.  I hope this information helps, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com