Load-bearing wall? - opening up wall between kitchen and living room

[JosefineBergExtor]

My husband and I have bought a house built in 1968 and wish to open up the wall between the kitchen and living room.
Now to the question of whether it is load-bearing?
I have read that W-trusses can be self-supporting, but also that walls drawn on the section drawing are load-bearing?
Does anyone know if we can determine this solely from the original drawings? 🙏

 

[Kane]

No, not supportive.

 

[egge80]

I am hesitant because it is placed right under the w: and with that said, it is about spans and the dimensions of the material
Note I am not a constructor, just a happy amateur

 

[Kane]

I am hesitant because it is placed right under the w: and that said it is about spans and the dimensions of the material
Note I am not an engineer, just an enthusiastic amateur

You are looking at the wrong wall.

 

[egge80]

You're looking at the wrong wall.

Isn't it the one that's circled? I know the standard answer is that w trusses are self-supporting, but in this case, I'm still unsure because of the placement. Had it been placed between the w's, I would have said it's non-load-bearing, but now it serves a function for the truss, so we'll wait for an engineer.

 

[Kane]

Isn't it the one circled? I know the standard answer is that w trusses are self-supporting, but in this case, I nonetheless became uncertain.

 

[egge80]

[image]

I understand what you mean, did ts circle the wrong wall in the first picture then?

 

[Kane]

I understand what you mean, ts has then marked the wrong wall in the first image, right?

Yep.

 

[JosefineBergExtor]

Hello! Thank you so much for your reply! It was just a sectional drawing, and I now see that it appears to be from the upper floor, just as you said! It's not the bathroom wall that should be demolished, but the one marked on the other picture between the living room and the kitchen!

 

[JosefineBergExtor]

[image]

Thank you so much for clarifying that this was the second floor!

 

[VidarH]

I was also initially confused about the presence of a balcony in the cross-section. The circled section of the wall does not have any support beneath it, which the other section does due to the wall with doors to the boiler room and adjacent room. This should mean that there is a load-bearing beam in the attic that is "outside" the wall you want to remove. The easiest way is to crawl up into the attic and try to take a look.

 

[JosefineBergExtor]

I was also initially confused by the presence of a balcony in the cross-section.
The circled part of the wall does not have any support underneath it, unlike the other part, which has support thanks to the wall with doors to the boiler room and adjoining room. This should mean there's a load-bearing beam in the attic that lies "outside" the wall you want to remove? The easiest way is to crawl up to the attic and try to take a look.

It's my mistake since there was only a sectional drawing available.
We'll crawl up into the attic and check, is it a prerequisite for removing the wall easily that there is a load-bearing beam? If I understand it correctly, if it exists, it runs parallel to the middle wall, in the center of the house? Like an extension of the wall above the boiler room/laundry room?

 

[JosefineBergExtor]

It's my fault for confusing things since there was only one sectional drawing from the plans.
Then we need to crawl up to the attic and check; is it a prerequisite for removing the wall easily that there is a supporting beam? If I understand correctly, if it exists, it runs parallel to the central wall, in the middle of the house? As an extension of the wall above the boiler room/laundry room?

I have been up and checked, and there is indeed flooring on the attic, but at the V of the truss or whatever you call it, you could look in, and it doesn't seem like there's any supporting structure going, so the question is if it can be removed anyway?