Depending on the construction of your house, it may be impossible to accurately guess which walls are load bearing and which are not. In this case, your house's original blueprints or building plans can be a valuable resource. A house's blueprints can give you an idea of where support beams lie, which walls were the original exterior walls, and more. You can use this information to inform your decisions when it comes to designating certain walls as load bearing.  It's not at all uncommon for homeowners not to possess a copy of their home's original blueprints. Luckily, blueprints for your home may be found:  At the county clerk's office In the possession of the original owners In the possession of the original builder and/or contracting company   Finally, it's possible to commission a re-drawing of your home's blueprint from an architect. This, however, can be costly. Procure your house's original blueprint and invest an appropriate amount of time in determining whether a wall you're not sure about is load bearing. Look for the clues listed above - does it contain a major support beam? Are floor joists connected parallel to it? Was it an original external wall? Never tear down a wall until you're confident it's not load bearing, as even experienced home improvement experts can't always tell where a load bearing wall is solely based on visual cues. See wikiHow's guide on reading architectural drawings for more information. Generally, the more renovations your home has had, the harder it will be to tell which walls are load bearing and which are not. During home renovations, non-load bearing walls can be made to bear weight (and vice versa). For instance, hanging or cutting ceiling joists, adding stairways, and adding attic rooms usually require the changing of non-load bearing walls to load bearing walls. Take these changes into account when deciding which walls are load bearing - if your blueprints show walls that don't exist anymore or you see walls in your home which don't appear in the blueprint, figure out what kinds of modifications have been done before proceeding. If you're unsure about your home's history of renovations, contact previous owners and builders for more information.
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