I've started considering tearing down an interior wall. I am completely new to the concept of structural integrity and house construction, so I thought I’d start by asking here.
Attached are two images of the plans I have access to; it's the red-marked wall that is to be removed entirely. The house was built in 1944. Between these two walls, there are currently built-in closets, which are to be removed, and the remaining wall will be sealed up. Is there a risk that the marked wall is load-bearing, or is it just a matter of removal?
That was tricky! There are two parallel walls standing where there is usually the load-bearing center wall. The truss seems to need a load-bearing wall in the middle. It might be that your both walls together fulfill that function. Even if the wall in question doesn't stand over a basement wall, it might still be needed. An idea would be to reinforce the wall you do not want to demolish so that it can take a larger load from above and transfer it down to the basement wall. Also, check in the attic if there is a joint in the bottom beam of the truss (the one that runs across from outer wall to outer wall).
That was tricky! There are two parallel walls standing where there is usually the load-bearing "hjärteväggen" (heart wall). The roof truss looks like it needs a load-bearing wall in the middle. It could be that both of your walls together fulfill that function. Even if the wall in question doesn't stand over a basement wall, it might still be needed.
One idea would be to reinforce the wall you don't want to tear down so that it can take up a larger load from above and lead it down to the basement wall. Also, check in the attic if there is a joint in the bottom beam of the roof truss (the one that goes across from outer wall to outer wall).
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As I said, I have very little knowledge about house constructions and how loads should be distributed, and it doesn't get any better given that it was built in '44 as they built back then. Before I saw the drawings, I suspected that the wall that is to remain would be load-bearing as it seemed to go in the middle of the house and over the "hjärtväggen" (heart wall) in the basement. But according to the drawing, it is not completely centered in the house, so I came to the same track as you that possibly both walls are needed.
Going up to the attic and digging a bit in the sawdust to see what it looks like. Thanks for the tip.
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