My partner and I bought a 1 1/2 story villa from 1975 a few months ago, and we have started renovating it. Now we want to take down a wall on the upper floor since there are enough rooms as it is...
The house is made of brick on the lower part and wood panel on the upper part (gables).
What I wonder is if the wall marked in the picture is load-bearing?
I've had a few friends who are carpenters at home, and they say that it is most likely not load-bearing since there usually aren't any load-bearing walls on the upper floor...
I have old blueprints that I will try to scan in, so maybe that will help...
there are probably few catalog houses built with any load-bearing walls in that way? All to be able to make different room divisions in the same module, so to speak.
As others have said, it would surprise me if there were load-bearing construction on the upper floor of a 1½-story house.
A simple way to test (which is not 100% certain) if it is a wooden frame is to make a hole near a stud and start sawing the stud (with a hand saw). If the saw gets stuck tightly after cutting a little more than halfway through the stud, there is weight on the wall, and it is load-bearing (of something). If it gets stuck, you'll need to brace with a stud on the side and then try to free the saw...
Just a word of caution, if there is any suspicion that it might be a load-bearing construction, you must consult a structural engineer before taking down the wall or sawing off (or into) more studs!
