How to Tell if Your Wall is Load Bearing
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- Here we show you how to tell if a wall is load bearing, and we explain the physics and engineering behind load bearing walls, and break down each of the components of a stud wall for you in this bearing wall design example, like jack studs and kind studs, both important parts of your load bearing wall framing.
Tools we recommend:
Dewalt Framing Nailer Kit: amzn.to/2BIespt
It's a 20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion battery cordless brushless 2-speed 33-degree framing nailer. This comes with charger and case too. I got this as a great alternative to having a compressor and twisted hoses everywhere to power a framing nailer to nail the bottom plate and wall studs back together, and add cabinet blocking to our stud walls.
Be sure to view our other video on How To Eliminate Wobble in a kitchen wall: • How to Stabilize Wobbl...
Keep in mind this house was built in 1946 on the cheap for veterans, the header over this door frame resting on the jack studs was not correct. Today's building codes for bearing wall framing would have the header as a two 2x6 boards, with a half inch plywood sandwiched in between and they would be mounted with the 6" side upward vertically, not laying down flat on the jack studs as the door frame on this load bearing wall shows.
If you are about to take down your wall in the kitchen to open up the kitchen to the living room, you need to know if that is a • bearing wall structure because you can't just demolish that wall, there are certain bracing precautions you must use prior to load bearing wall removal. So at this point, you really have to study and learn how to know if a wall is load bearing.
A load bearing wall is a wall that directly bears the point load weight of the roof trusses or a second floor above it. If it is a true load bearing wall, then usually the floor joists of the attic above your wall will sit with one end of the joist on the top of your stud wall, and so people remodeling a house need to determine if the wall is load bearing or not. If you see a floor joist end on top of your stud wall, then it is a load bearing wall, and you know you can't just remove load bearing wall until you put the new framing in.
The strict definition of the load bearing wall is if the ends of a roof truss or floor joists sit on top of your stud wall, then you know there is a point load going down to ground. But what if the joists are just traveling across the top of your stud wall, and the joists are supported on both ends of the house, is your wall still load bearing? In this potential bearing wall design example, opinions vary.
It's a tough question, not everyone is a structural engineering expert. I witnessed 2 contractors debating over whether this was a load bearing wall. Some people say yes these are load bearing walls, and some say no. But you cant go wrong in treating it as a load bearing wall, and just make sure you don't take the whole wall down at once. to be safe for load bearing wall removal, you can always build a temporary stud wall to brace the ceiling joists until you replace the bearing wall with a beam and its supports.
But if it is a load bearing wall, you need to build bracing to support the floor joists or other loads above prior to removing any studs from this wall. Also the header over the door should be made of two 2x6 pieces of wood nailed together and mounted so the 6" tall part should be the header over the door top. You may need a 1/2" thick filler piece nailed between them.
This is what I think is the funny part, you have to build a bearing wall framing structure in order to take down a load bearing framing structure.
Load bearing wall removal
If the wall is load bearing, then you cannot just start pulling studs out of it to open up your kitchen for that open concept look because then the load, which is your roof or second floor, could come crashing down. You need to build a temporary stud wall and mount it pretty close to your load bearing wall to support the ceiling structure above it before you can remove that load bearing wall.
Based on the information in this video, you'll be able to quickly determine whether your wall is load bearing or not, and see the necessary anatomy of what a properly framed door cut out should look like to create a cutout for a door in a load bearing wall.
00:00 Introduction to load bearing walls
00:52 Components of a typical wall, studs, top/bottom plates
01:57 How point loads from above are supported to ground
04:49 Adding a door to a load bearing wall
07:14 How to tell a load bearing wall with drywall installed 
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Hi everyone, we just added another video along these lines called "How to Stabilize a Wobbly Partition Wall (Kitchen Remodel Knee Wall)", view it here: ruclips.net/video/KWIHdWjPKC0/видео.html
Tools we recommend:
Dewalt Framing Nailer Kit: amzn.to/2BIespt
It's a 20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion battery cordless brushless 2-speed 33-degree framing nailer. This comes with charger and case too. I got this as a great alternative to having a compressor and twisted hoses everywhere to power a framing nailer to nail the bottom plate and wall studs back together, and add cabinet blocking to our stud walls.
L
Finally. Someone who can define what a wall bearing wall actually looks like. Love your communication style. A true teacher. Bravo.
Dude you are an excellent teacher. I barely noticed that 8.5 minutes went by, you explained things so nicely. I was hooked ! Thanks!!
Haylerie Thanks I'm so glad you like our video.
OMG watching so many videos about load bearing walls and this was the most thorough and informative one so far! Pretty cut and dry. THANK YOU!!
Thanks Micki, glad you liked it!
Finally!!! Someone who can easily show and explain what a wall bearing wall looks like... thank you sooo much! I've searched everywhere an no now could explain and show it as nicely as you did
Best “How to tell if wall is load bearing” video on RUclips. Great job!!
Glad it was helpful!
I almost never comment on RUclips videos but I watched this video and your "how to cut a door" video and they were both SUPER helpful and gave me the knowledge and confidence to add my own door between my house and my garage on the new house I'm buying.
I'll still likley involve a friend who's more familiar/comfortable with these things, but now I know and understand the principles behind the whole deal, so that will help me immensely. Thanks!
You bet, it's always good to have 2 smart minds working together!
thankyou for explaining this so clearly in regular English ..thank you so much I feel very comfortable going ahead with my renos now!
This was FANTASTIC, thank you so much! Framing was escaping me a little bit, with the terminology and all of the parts. And this plus a picture I found online with labels, I now I feel solidly educated!
Thanks a bunch!
In the UK most load bearing walls are brick from top to bottom in my experience / knowledge. Our new home is more rural and the ground floor is brick and the 1st floor is stud. It confused me but as I assumed and watching your video has cleared it up as a load bearing wall!
Thanks
from a Buildability stand your explanation is perfect, I just found your channel, I will recommend IT. Thank You Jeff
Awesome, thank you!
I am from another country and wondered what was a load bearing wall. I had a good idea but your clear and easy explanation helped me to understand all that is involved. Thank you so much.
Thank you for clarifying what a load bearing wall is. The fact that the beams are visible was great because im a very visual person and can comprehend better with an ilustration. I sometimes perform handyman jobs but i will not take a job or perform a task if it will jeopardize the integrity of a structure. Great vid thx !!!
This is the best explanation I have seen to understanding whether a wall is load bearing. Great job! Thank you!
I finally understand load bearing, joists, and wall structure. Thank you!
same!
This video helps, but you need a lot more information!
EXTREMELY helpful video. Thanks so much!
Great video Jeff! Learned a ton just in this 8-minute video. Keep up the great work.
Awesome, thank you!
I'd always wanted to know exactly how load bearing walls worked and how to figure out what walls were load bearing and this video explained it in a way I could understand it clearly so, thank you!
Best explanation ive seen on RUclips so far.
HANDS DOWN THE BEST VIDEO EXPLANATION THANKS!!!!!
Thank you for explaining this in a way everyone can understand!
You're very welcome!
Wow, this explanation is FANTASTIC. Makes it so clear, and I finally know the terminology: King stud, Jack stud, joist, "cripple", etc. Thank you, sir!
Thanks Trey!
Outstanding! Thanks for taking the time to share the knowledge!
Thank you so much for educating me. I found this extremely helpful and, I now know what to look for when tearing down my non-weight bearing wall.
Glad you found it useful! Look at our other helpful videos too!
Thank you! I appreciate the straight forward direct no bs info. You explained it perfectly!
Keep up the good work!!!
Thank you for describing this in such detail. I want to make my bathroom bigger and your description has helped me for what to look for.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! Watched 4 videos before yours and was still unsure. Your video is clear and well explained. I got it now. Thank you!
The information and progression of that info in this video is impressive. I learned a lot watching !
Awesome glad to help out
Got 10 stitches on my head. It was definately a load bearing
Great tutorial for DIY people. Thank you!!!
You are so welcome!
1918 SFH that was converted into a duplex sometime over the last century. Was looking to open up a smaller doorway for a closet pantry. I do not think the wall is loadbearing, but this has given me the confidence and the information needed to tackle the project. I will act as if the wall really is load bearing since it's an older home.
Glad to help Kyle
Thank you for this clear and concise explanation!
Great ,simple straight-forward explanation along w/ the visuals
Great Video 👍 You helped me with all my questions...
Thank you for this very understandable and thorough video! I never did know how to recogize a load-bearing v. non-load-bearing wall and now I do. We're doing some kitchen renovation so this was pretty important. Thank you!
Glad to help. Also if any ceiling joists or rafters end on top of that wall, it is load bearing
great video. easy to understand. clearly spoken. Outstanding!!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you'll enjoy our other videos also!
great job explaining it. Thank you!
Very good explanation, thanks Jeff
Glad it was helpful Bill!
Explained in a way to understand. Thank
You
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
Your video was great! Easy to follow and informative. Thank you. :)
Thank you Krystal, glad you liked it.
Excellent instruction. Well done. Thank You
Lane McHugh Thanks for stopping by I'm so glad you liked it. We also have a few other videos related to stud walls like how to install cabinet blocking and how to repair a bottom plate that rotted out you might want to take a look at those too.
Outstanding. Really well explained.
Wow what a lesson !!! Was not aware of this. Great video !!!
Thanks so much, glad you liked our video!
Liked and subscribed it has been a long time that I've been researching this answer but you made it very clear and simple I appreciate that
Very very information packed video. Thank you!!!
Glad it was helpful!
The pov from the camera and finger pointing really helped me get down the key points you made. Just on that made me sub lol. 👍
Very clear education thanks for sharing
Thank you for making this video !
Very, very well defined. Thanks for sharing.
Clad you liked it Robert thanks for watching
Very good tutorial. Thank you very much instructor.
Thanks for the kind words on my video!
Thank you for explaining it so well.
Thanks for viewing our video!
Great video , never saw the last 15 seconds, just couldn't take another commercial
That's RUclips, squeezes in as many commercials as they can, but you can skip them at least.
This explanation was so helpful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Such a great video. So helpful!
Thanks for watching I'm glad you found the video helpful
Thanks man. My dad show me this stuff but it’s bin a while. Thanks for the refresher course.
Very good job explaining everything. Thank you
Thanks glad you liked it Toni!
Nice clear and concise explanation.
Thanks Haskell, glad you liked it
Thank you for explaining this!!!
Well articulated. Very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you! Great informational video
Glad it was helpful!
You should be and hope you are a teacher your video is clear and easy to understand .
Clearly explained. Thank you
Great education!! Thank you!
Great video. Thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you!! Very easy to follow!
Glad you liked it. Take a look at some of our other videos too!
Great explanation on load bearing walls. Thanks.
You are welcome!
truly helpful and informative, thank you
Thanks I'm glad to help out
Super helpful as a starting point to investigate
Awesome, glad to help and thanks for watching
That was incredibly helpful!
Thanks for your kind words! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and also watch our other helpful videos to solve your remodeling engineering issues.
Awesome video 👍 definitely helps since my hubby and I own a old house, and are remodeling! Thank you!
Happy to help!
Very informative video, thank you.
Good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to give us a detailed explanation.
awesome, glad you liked it. Be sure to also view our other DIY videos to help you through your projects.
I'll check them out. Thanks Jeff.
Really informative - thank you!
Bianca, glad you liked it and thanks for watching our video!
Thankyou for the info. I understand a load bearing wall much better now. I now realize the wall that my houses previous owner had cut open to make an archway was load bearing. I wasn't sure but was concerned so I replaced it with a smaller doorway with header etc that fits between the wide studs (very old house).
Jeff, you are always the best, you explains so simply and precisely. I want to open a door opening in my basement wall to furnace room. I want to do it myself so now I have a fair idea how to differentiate between a load bearing and non load bearing wall. Thank you Jeff.
You can do it!
Great video! Thank you for the great info.
fantastic video! You are very clear and easy to listen to. While listening, I found myself nodding in response to your instructions as though you were right in front of me. :)
Thanks Tamara, I'm glad you found my video useful!
I was just thinking the same. Kudos! This very good info! I am about to start rebuilding my home due to flooding and was looking for info on how to replace certain studs. This videos is very informative! Thank you
Glad to help out, and good luck with your rebuilding.
Wow great information. Thank you so much!
Thanks we are so glad you like it!
Super helpful. Thank you
Thanks. Excellent explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
What a great teacher!!
Thank you. This is valuable information.
Glad it was helpful!
I learned something new. Great video
Thanks glad we were able to help you
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Love your video!
You are welcome and thanks for stopping by!
Excellent information and explanation; very well spoken. Thank you. Best video Ive seen!
Great video. I learned so much.
Glad to help out
Thank you for such an informative video!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching Angela!
Thanks you for posting the video, very helpful
Thanks Thomas, I'm glad you liked it.
Great explanation brother!
Thanks, great info!
Thank you Jeff very informative 👍🏽
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video my wife and I just bought our first house and she wants to knock a wall down and we weren't sure if it's a load bearing wall...but now we do...thank you
Glad I could help!
Nicely done. Very clear. Thank you. Now a subscriber. Been toying with taking out a basement wall and this helps me understand what I’m up against. Most likely will need an engineered beam.
I was not looking for this but that was an education, thanks I learned something today.
Marco Guevara Awesome and thanks for stopping by!
you should not be giving people information! you are putting people ib danger
Jeff Judd Usually when people like you come by and leave a blanket statement like that with no information behind it it's because you don't know what you are talking about. So why don't you tell us how I am endangering people what is specifically in correct that I am putting people's lives in danger? Experts in the field of a subject will always state what is wrong.
Very Informative!
Thanks, glad you liked it.
Thank you for the video.
Thank you so much for this
Very good video. Thanks
Glad you liked it and thank you for watching
great video, very articulate!
Scott Leas Thanks so much Scott I'm glad you liked the video.