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Load-Bearing Wall

A load-bearing wall is a wall that carries weight from the structure above it, such as floors, ceiling joists or the roof, and transfers that weight down to the foundation. Removing one without adding a beam or other support can cause the structure to sag or fail.

Exterior walls are usually load-bearing. Interior walls often are too when they run perpendicular to the floor or ceiling joists, sit near the middle of the house, or stack directly above another wall or beam on the floor below. A non-load-bearing wall, or partition, supports only its own weight.

Because the structure depends on them, changes to load-bearing walls normally need an engineer or a building permit.

Plans do not always mark which walls are load-bearing, and the distinction does not change square footage. It matters when a floor plan is being redrawn for a remodel, since an open floor plan often means replacing a bearing wall with a beam.