Is it a structurally supporting wall when the ceiling joists are parallel to the wall you wish to be deconstructed?

My kitchen is 17' x 14' and my family room is 12' x 14'. It is my desire to remove half of the 14' wall (making the wall 40" high from the floor), between the two rooms. I do not want to knock the entire wall down because I do not want my family room furniture 'in' my kitchen. The ceiling joists run parallel to the 14' wall. Do I or do I not need a header?? This will be the difference in cost and a deciding factor if I want to do this small renovation sooner or later. Thank you

Answers

Not usually when the wall is running parallel with the joist, but you still need to pay attention to what is on top or tied into it, often at later times and such.

yimi

Not usually when the wall is running parallel with the joist, but you still need to pay attention to what is on top or tied into it, often at later times and such.

dtstellwagen

From what you described it is not load bearing. To know for sure you would have to open the ceiling and see if there is any cross blocking providing support to two joists. Rare, not usually code, but could happen.

Anonymous

If there are no timbers or other members bearing on the wall at any level, then it is unlikely to be a supporting wall.

rick29148

not 'usually' ....................................................

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