I’m trying to answer a question about which walls are expendable and which walls are load-bearing. I know some owners have opened up their kitchen side and/or end walls but who determines that those walls can safely go? Is it up to the owner to hire an engineer to get confirmation or is there some official repository of this information somewhere?
I found lots of claims in old comments here that those walls can be removed; what I’m trying to do right now is learn how one verifies that for project approval purposes. Thanks in advance for any info anyone can offer in the comments!
For most to the 2BR units in the building, is anything within the interior walls actually load bearing, other than the original (and very obvious) wood columns/beams?
The horizontal center beam across the ceiling on the first floor of our units is a massive I-beam that appears to have been somehow notched(?) into the vertical wood columns. And from the looks of what we’ve seen replacing drywall in the bathrooms and around the kitchen it looks like there’s only a small amount of wood 2x4s beneath the stairs and extremely lightweight metal studs everywhere else, which do little more than hold the drywall in place.
Welcome others thoughts here who may know more about the original architecture.
Since you need a general contractor to do such renovations it is that person’s responsibility to figure it out. Also, you will need a building permit and get approval from the Condo Association. This is to protect the building and provide you with liability insurance in case something major goes wrong. Start the approval process as soon as possible. It will take 4-6 months.
In general most interior walls are not load bearing. But best to be sure.