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I am hoping to remove a portion of wall along with a door header. I don't think it is load bearing but I just wanted to get some opinions.

I have had one contractor say it is, and another say it is "definitely not".

The red portion is what I would like to remove, and the yellow portion IS load bearing (basement is unfinished, so it is easy to tell).

House was built in the 60's. I should note that the floor joists run perpendicular to the load bearing (yellow) wall.

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Please see additional photos with the drywall removed. It looks to me as though it is non-load bearing. Is it clear to anyone that it is, or is not, load-bearing?

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    It's NOT possible to tell from a photo. I strongly recommend that you hire a licensed structural engineer (i.e. a P.E.) who can determine whether this is or is not load bearing and if it is, what kind of support is needed to replace it. – jwh20 Sep 21 '20 at 17:59
  • Not sure looking at the basement is entirely helpful in telling if this section is bearing loads from above... the attic might be an indicator. Just from looking at it, it sure seems like the longer pink colored section is supporting the ceiling and the header above the "door way". – mark f Sep 21 '20 at 18:16
  • Looks as though I posted a junk post. I'll likely delete this soon as it has already been downvoted. – Shinobii Sep 21 '20 at 19:31
  • I would doubt that it is load bearing because the kitchen is not that wide but the wall may be supporting because of the large clear span. I reversed the down vote you asked a question and had a photo no reason for a down vote. – Ed Beal Sep 21 '20 at 19:39
  • I will take some photos of the basement and attic space tonight and update the post. I am not opposed to getting a professional to look at this, was just wondering if was an "obvious case". – Shinobii Sep 21 '20 at 19:44
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You are not sure if the header above the doorway or the corner to the right of the doorway is load bearing. I have added yellow highlights to each of these.

enter image description here

Really there are only two ways to know for sure.

  1. Take off the drywall at both spots and take pictures of right above them in the attic and let us inspect.
  2. Get blueprints of the house to an engineer and have them inspect.

There is just no way you can guess based on this picture that the corner to the right isn't load bearing. In fact I would assume it is until you prove it different.

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  • Right, I get what you're saying. However, would there not be some indication of the load being carried to the ground in the basement? Or perhaps it could be dispersed through the floor joists? I find this all very fascinating. – Shinobii Sep 21 '20 at 20:11
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    @Shinobii - the basement will not indicate the wall being load bearing or not. It certainly gives you clues and may tell you that something is for sure but it won't give you the whole story. The attic is in the same boat, although you can usually get a much better indicator and really that wall is holding up what is above it not below. And it doesn't have to be point loaded all the way to basement floor. There is a chance depending on how attic looks that basement pictures are needed but I would start in the attic and see what is in that header above doorway first. – DMoore Sep 21 '20 at 20:23
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    That being said... if the right corner is just "loose" between two joists... very good indicator that it is not load bearing. At that point I would have you remove drywall to confirm there was nothing substantial in the header that would carry a load over. Then you are done (without looking at basement). – DMoore Sep 21 '20 at 20:25
  • So after removing the drywall, everything was indeed loose. Definitely was not load bearing. I've never done something like this before, so thanks for bearing with me (pun intended). – Shinobii Sep 25 '20 at 12:08

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