Is This Wall Load Bearing?

Sherina Derobertis is thinking of buying a foreclosure in Alabama. Allow her to fill you in.

"Hi Tim and Happy New Year. I'm looking to purchase a foreclosure in Alabama and I wanted to ask if you could tell via a photo if the wall is load-bearing? If I purchase the house I'd definitely have to have this wall removed. I uploaded a photo for you to take a peek at. Thank you so very much!"

Here's the photo of the wall that Sherina wants to remove. I need to see so much more to make the determination. Photo credit: Sherina Derobertis

Here's my answer:

Sherina, it's impossible for me to make the determination looking at just that photo. I'd need to be at the house and see what's on top of and under that wall.

The good news is just about EVERY load-bearing wall CAN BE removed and replaced with a beam.

Read this column of mine to see how complex this can be.

Watch this video to see how to look for CLUES that tell you if a wall is load bearing or not.