How to Tell If a Wall Is Load Bearing
Before you remove any internal wall, you need to know how to tell if a wall is load bearing. Removing a load-bearing wall without the right structural support will cause the floor or roof above it to drop, resulting in serious and expensive damage. This guide explains how to identify a load-bearing wall, what the tell-tale signs are, and what to do next if you think your wall is structural.
What Does Load Bearing Mean and Why Does It Matter?
A load-bearing wall carries the weight of the structure above it down to the foundations below. That structure could be a floor, a roof or another wall on a higher storey. When you remove a load-bearing wall, that weight needs somewhere else to go to which is why a structural engineer designs a steel RSJ beam to carry the load across the new opening.
A non-load-bearing wall (often called a partition wall) simply divides space. It carries only its own weight and can be removed without any structural design, providing it is not a fire or acoustic compartment wall.
How to Tell If a Wall Is Load Bearing: The Signs to Look For
It runs at right angles to the floor joists
Floor joists span from one wall to another, and the walls they bear onto are load-bearing. In most UK houses, the floor joists run front to back (or back to front). A wall that runs across the joists to at right angles to the direction the boards run to is usually load-bearing because the joists land on it. A wall that runs in the same direction as the joists is often not load-bearing (but not always).
You can sometimes work out the joist direction from the floor above. The boards typically run at right angles to the joists. If the floorboards run left to right, the joists run front to back, and a wall running left to right at the mid-span is likely load-bearing.
It is on an intermediate floor of a multi-storey house
In a two-storey house, the first-floor joists span between the ground-floor external walls and any internal walls that carry them at mid-span. Any wall on the ground floor that supports the first floor joists is load-bearing. Similarly, any wall on the first floor that supports the roof rafters or second-floor joists is load-bearing.
It sits directly above or below another wall
Load paths in buildings tend to run vertically. If there is a wall directly above the one you want to remove, or directly below it, there is a good chance both walls are part of the same load path and the one you want to remove is structural. This is particularly common in terraced houses where the party wall runs through all floors continuously.
It is a solid masonry wall rather than a lightweight partition
In most UK properties built before 1980, internal load-bearing walls are built in brick or block. Lightweight partitions are often timber stud (a timber frame covered with plasterboard) or metal stud. You can usually tell by knocking to a stud partition sounds hollow, a masonry wall sounds solid and is much harder to the touch. However, this is not definitive: some load-bearing walls have been over-boarded with plasterboard and will sound hollow, and some non-load-bearing walls are masonry.
It supports the roof structure
In houses with cut timber roofs (common pre-1970), the purlins that support the rafters often bear onto internal walls. These walls are load-bearing. The mid-terrace wall in a Victorian property, for example, often carries the purlin on both sides. Check the loft to see where the purlins land.
Signs a Wall Is Probably Not Load Bearing
- It runs parallel to the floor joists (in the same direction as the boards above)
- It is lightweight timber stud or metal stud construction
- It was clearly added after the original build (different materials, different bond pattern)
- It does not appear on the original building plans as a structural element
- It is on the top floor and there is nothing above it except a flat ceiling (no roof structure bearing onto it)
How to Tell If a Wall Is Load Bearing Using House Plans
If you have original building plans to either from when the property was built or from a previous extension or loft conversion to a structural engineer can identify load-bearing walls from the drawings without visiting the site. Look for:
- Walls shown with thicker lines or hatching (indicates structural masonry)
- Walls annotated as "load-bearing" or "structural" on the drawings
- Walls shown as continuing through multiple floors in section drawings
- Walls where floor joists are shown bearing onto them
If you do not have plans, your local planning authority may hold original building regulations drawings. For houses built after roughly 1948 in areas where records are well kept, these are sometimes available. Alternatively, some property searches include structural information.
What to Do Once You Know How to Tell If a Wall Is Load Bearing
If you believe the wall you want to remove is load-bearing, the process is straightforward:
- Get a structural engineer to confirm and design the beam. Send your plans and photos. The engineer confirms whether the wall is structural and calculates the correct RSJ beam, padstone sizes and connection details. See our guide: load bearing wall removal.
- Get Building Control approval. A load-bearing wall removal requires Building Control approval. Your structural engineer's calculation pack is what you submit. See: wall removal structural calculations.
- Hire a builder who has experience with structural alterations. Propping, beam installation and making good are specialist work. Ask your builder specifically whether they have done load-bearing wall removals before.
How much does it cost?
A structural engineer's assessment and calculation starts from £245. The total project cost including the steel, builder's labour and making good typically runs from £1,800 to £4,500. For a full cost breakdown: load bearing wall removal cost guide.
FAQ: How to Tell If a Wall Is Load Bearing
Can my builder tell me if the wall is load bearing?
An experienced builder can usually make a reasonable assessment, but they are not insured to certify it and Building Control will not accept their word. A structural engineer carries professional indemnity insurance and produces the formal certification that Building Control requires.
What happens if I remove a load-bearing wall without a structural engineer?
In the short term, possibly nothing obvious. In the longer term: the floor above can deflect and crack, doors and windows on upper floors can jam, and the structure above can distort. When you come to sell the property, solicitors will ask for the Building Control certificate to without it the sale can fall through or require expensive remediation work at your cost.
Do all internal walls need a structural engineer to remove?
No. Only load-bearing walls require a structural engineer and Building Control approval. Non-load-bearing partition walls can be removed by a builder without structural calculations. The question is always whether the wall is structural first.