It is a structural element within a house or home.
Identify load bearing roof.
They typically are carrying and transferring a load from one point to another.
A bearing wall is a wall that has loads weight bearing down on it from above.
Examine the roof structure from outside.
Generally when the wall in question runs parallel to the floor joists above it is not a load bearing wall.
A structural wall actually carries the weight of your house from the roof and upper floors.
Start at the foundation.
If the wall is located directly under the attic you can go up there to study the positions of the beams and joists.
If the wall in question is on the second floor look to see if there is a.
Note the direction the roof ridge runs.
However there are cases where a bearing wall is parallel to the joists.
The important thing to remember is that if a wall is load bearing it is transferring that load to something underneath it.
Look at the floor joists.
How to identify a load bearing wall understand the structure.
Floor ceiling and roof loads from above are common loads that bear down on a bearing wall.
Using this technique you ll get a better idea of the location of the load bearing walls in your house.
Load bearing walls cross roof beams in a perpendicular direction.
In a house that has an unfinished basement or easily accessible wall finding the beams.
Look inside the attic if possible to identify the direction in which the rafters or joists travel.
Load bearing walls typically run in.