load bearing walls
Hold building up
Load bearing walls are walls that support the weight of a building's structure above them—transferring loads from roof, floors, or upper stories down to the foundation.
Removing or modifying them without proper support can cause structural collapse.
The term appears frequently in renovation discussions: Before we knock out that wall, we need to check if it's load bearing.
Contrast with partition walls, which merely divide space.
- structuralRelating to building framework
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- weight distributionHow mass is allocated
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- steel beamsStructural metal supports
beams · columns · studs · framing · weight · masonry · concrete · reinforced · demolition · gut rehab · renovation · blueprint · architect · joists · ceiling · floor · shear · compression
- building constraintsceiling height, floor space, room dimensions, weight limits, clearance
- retrofitsweatherization, window replacement, tankless heater, smart thermostat, programmable thermostats
- earthquake engineeringearthquake engineering, seismic waves, liquefaction, seismic risk, dampers
load bearing wallspartition walls
Interior walls separating spaces
curtain walls · room dividers · movable walls · screen walls · false walls
load, loads, loaded, loading, loader, unload, unloaded, unloading, overload