My Wife and I want to shorten and move a wall in the living room to make the room bigger, and make the bathroom smaller and more workable.

I am not sure though if the wall is load bearing.

The wall is a double 2x4 on top, but in the basement it is more than a foot away from the floor support beam. The wall only connects to half the ceiling in the living room, and wall is not in center of room.

I understand the wall in perpendicular to ceiling joists but that does not mean load bearing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: John Grabowicz,

Here is another drawing showing the before layout of livingroom. the red lines are the floor beam that support the floor joists in the basement.

Here is the planned new layout. Cut back and put in new bathroom wall with door about 3', angle in wall to hold propane vent free fireplace. Add closet in bathroom to stack the washer and dryer.

My first instinct is that they are not load bearing but I am only going on the information you have given. One check you can do is to see if that is a solid header over the doorway between the living room and the dining room. If that header is solid, then there is a good chance that the wall you want to shorten may be load bearing. Of course, if you size that new, wider opening so that it can still have a header on top, then you can still remove the wall and open up the doorway wider.

As always with structural questions, you really cannot get a guaranteed correct answer from any of us - no matter how much we know about construction. Your best bet is to get somebody local who has some structural knowledge to take a first hand look at what you have and what you would like to remove.

Methinks you would have to present a drawing to your local code enforcement office outlining your ideas and he [or she] would most certainly need a visual inspection to approve your plans.
Providing an opinion via the net is risky @ best, but it does look like you could do what you propose, though. Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I was going to get an inspector to get a pro look before I get the sawzall out.

I just hate getting the answer that if the wall has a double 2x4 top, it "must" be load bearing. That is not always the case. Some builders do it because they think they have to, but they dont.

The only thing that worries me is that if the wall is, it is in the wrong place and needs to be over about a foot and a half more over the floor joist support.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: John Grabowicz,

The 'double top' plate on a framed wall means nothing. Almost all walls in standard 8' tall rooms are framed with a single bottom plate and a double top plate - This is to fit the dimensions of standard 92-5/8" studs. Add in the 1-1/2" bottom plate and the 3" double top plate and you have just over 97" of framing. Once 1/2" drywall is added and a finished floor, you have a standard 8' tall room.

It actually costs more to make a single top sill wall of the same height - which is why it's almost never done.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jaybee,

This could be a regional thing but those 2x4s are called "precuts" in this neck of the woods.
And a general rule of thumb is if the wall is located over top of a cellar beam, it may just be that load being wall we speak of. But not always...Roof truss design comes into play as well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CommonwealthSparky,

I am told by people who know the business, that load bearing walls may have their weight distributed below to multiple structural elements.

if those red lines are structural beams in the basement, you'd almost need to open some ceiling and see if the joists are overbuilt. sistered joists may well be a sign that the off-center walls are indeed load bearing and critical structure.

you need a certified expert on site to check this out, and they might have to open some wallboard to determine the type of structural support you have.

if it's not clear cut, all the more reason to have a structural engineer or a certified code inspector make your determination, and advise how to proceed. just because TV hosts throw around "point load" and point at things does not transfer expertise.