Is this Wall Load Bearing

[Yoshi]

Hi I am new here and have found a wealth of information that I have put to good use from this site. I now have a question. I'm sure this type of thing has been asked a million times but I am looking for specific help. Below is a picture of what I am working with. My home is built on slab and is 1 story with a gable roof. Roof is truss construction. I want to remove the red wall and I believe it is not load bearing because the other end of the house has the trusses span the entire length of the house from 1 exterior wall to the other without any supports. Anyone have any thoughts? There is no special framing up in the rafters. Thanks in advance

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURE

[leejosepho]

I want to remove the red wall and I believe it is not load bearing ...
Anyone have any thoughts?

You are probably correct, but that does not guarantee that wall is not actually bearing at least a little circumstantial "load" ... and that means you could end up with cracks in the finished ceiling nearby after removing it. Over time, all the other trusses in your house have possibly sagged or settled just a bit, and the ceiling material attached to them has had the same amount of time to adjust. In contrast, removing that red wall could "shock" the ceiling in the immediate area and leave you with some extra work to do.

[Yoshi]

You are probably correct, but that does not guarantee that wall is not actually bearing at least a little circumstantial "load" ... and that means you could end up with cracks in the finished ceiling nearby after removing it. Over time, all the other trusses in your house have possibly sagged or settled just a bit, and the ceiling material attached to them has had the same amount of time to adjust. In contrast, removing that red wall could "shock" the ceiling in the immediate area and leave you with some extra work to do.

Fortunately or unfortunately the ceiling is coming down in pretty much the whole room due to a pipe that froze and broke in the ceiling. The previous owner didn't insulate it properly, it broke and ran water in the house for over 5 hours while we were out Xmas shopping. I Pretty much have to gut everything on that floor. Good part is insurance is paying for it. So we are turning lemons into lemonade by redoing the kitchen which was mostly destroyed and wanted to put a breakfast bar in where the red wall is. Thanks for the response. If anyone else has any insight or opinions please let me know. Thanks!

[kingsotall]

Isn't this what structural engineers are for¿ Advice on DIY is one thing but sometimes an onsite professional cannot be substituted regardless of expense or necessity.

[Cass]

A knowledgeable carpenter would be able to tell you if it is a load bearing wall...

[jimbo]

Based on that rough sketch and your sketchy description, we would do you a great disservice to opine on that question. Roof trusses are one thing. What about ceiling joists?

Best bet is to get a knowledgeable local contractor in to have a look.

[hj]

Trusses are both the roof rafters AND the ceiling joists, that is why they are called "trusses". Given the distance from the outside wall and the type of trusses, it should not be a structural partition. There could even be a space between the truss and the top plate with clips to secure the two together.

[220/221]

Trusses are both the roof rafters AND the ceiling joists, that is why they are called "trusses". Given the distance from the outside wall and the type of trusses, it should not be a structural partition. There could even be a space between the truss and the top plate with clips to secure the two together.

Finally^. The wall is not load bearing. The load is on the outside walls only. The truss spans the gap and supports the roof as well as the ceiling. If you look closely at where the wall meets the trusses you wil be able to see a gap. Also you will see that the trusses on the right hand side of your drawing span the whole distance.

I did once see a long truss that was designed to have a wall at the halfway point. It had big red stickers on each truss saying Load bearing wall. Do not remove. I saw the stickers after they removed the wall and pointed it out to the homeowner/builder. She thought the ceiling cracks were from the AC guys walking around up there.

[Nate R]

If it's trusses as you say, it should be structurally OK. There may be cracks due to new settling of the bottom chord as was mentioned. Make SURE it's complete trusses and that you don't have some ceiling joists that overlap over that wall. Stranger things have been built before.

[Yoshi]

Thanks for all of the replies. Sorry I'm a little late on following up but I ended up remembering that there were 2 structural engineers I knew with who I ran the scenario by and they both said it was not load bearing. I took the wall out 2 months ago and finally finished the kitchen remodel. It looks great!