[remodel duo]

*We are new to the site & I didn't see any very similar questions/threads so our apologies if this has already been explained*
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We are wanting to open up our small living room a kitchen by removing a wall with an opening in it (I'm not sure what it is called) that separates the two rooms. We have it down to the studs mostly and we are not sure to tell how if it is load bearing. I have attached a few different photos from different angles to hopefully make it easy to see. The spot where we removed a few ceiling tiles can't be moved any further because of a wood barrier between us and the attic. There is no actual attic entrance in our house so we cannot get in the attic and see anything from the top looking down. Our house was built in 1932
Thanks in advance for the help!:smile:

 

[remodel duo]

 

[remodel duo]

 

[1acre]

might be a good time to make an access to the attic.

from just the pictures, it appears to be built not to be load bearing. of course, that is different than saying wether it should or should not be load bearing. certainly, you need to find out which way the joists run, where other load bearing walls are in the area etc.

what did the inspector say?

 

[Daniel Holzman]

The topic of load bearing walls has come up dozens of times on this forum over the past few years. A wall is load bearing if it carries more than its own weight. Typically the load comes from floor joists above, possibly from another wall directly above, or sometimes from braces in the attic above that bear on the wall.

In order to definitively determine if a wall is load bearing, it is necessary to examine the framing above to see if any load is being transmitted down through the wall in question. Your wall looks like it was constructed as a non-load bearing wall, however as was pointed out by a previous post, that does not mean the wall is correctly constructed. You need to get into the attic to see how the floor joists run, and to see if any structural elements bear on the wall. You may be able to see by removing some of the ceiling wallboard and looking through the opening.