I have a bi-level home and my kitchen and living room have a wall that I would like to cut down half way and put in a counter top that joins both rooms. Essentially to make it where I could eat at the bar/watch tv in living room.

My question is this. If the wall I want to blow out is a load bearing wall, will I need to make a support wall upstairs where the action is happening as well as downstairs below the action?

Attached is the wall I would like to blow out.

Any info would be great.

-New to this, but gotta make it happen

If it's load bearing then you will need some form of header to carry the load. This can be a drop header in the downstairs (easiest method) or a header contained within the joists above (a lot harder to do) or if it's just attic space above, you could do an attic header that supports from above.

The thing is, if this is load bearing then it's not the a good DIY project if you are unskilled in structural issues. Something like this really needs someone local to take a first-hand look to determine the loads.

gotta make it happen... RIGHT. your header might have to cross the open space to distribute the load onto supports, too. jaybee, being a pro, has it right... you need a qualified contractor or a structural engineer to determine placement and size of the header.

Thanks for the info.