Safe Luxury

I want to take out a wall in my one-story house. How can I tell if it is safe to take out this wall?

The roof was built with rafters, not trusses. There is no additional weight in the attic.

Public Comments

1. As long as the wall is not supporting any part of the ceiling or roof then you should be able to take out the wall with no problem.
2. I'm not an expert but my parents made duplexes into a house and to solve the wall problem they put in pillars where the wall use to be... This gave it a nice look as well as the fact that they didn't risk having the house tumble. Now you should research on how spaced out they should be and general things like that. I am not sure how efficient this solution is but i thought it was a good idea...
3. Although you say that the house has "rafters, not trusses" that doesn't completely answer the question. The interior walls of a structure *may* be critical to supporting the ceiling joists (and therefore the ceiling). Your best bet would be to hire a structural engineer to provide an analysis. This may be *required* if the area in which you live requires it as a condition of the building permit. You did know that removing an interior wall would probably require a building permit, didn't you? :-) And in case you were considering removing the interior wall *without* a permit, be aware that your insurance company may use that as a basis to deny all future claims. Proceed with caution.