Load bearing wall upstairs?

Zimchenko

Don't worry, I'm not knocking anything down!

I'm just trying to work out whether any of my upstairs walls could be load bearing as I'm boarding the attic and want to distribute weight in the best way.

Its a 70s Wimpey house. Joists run from top to bottom on the plan attached. All internal walls are plasterboard except the horizontal one on the ground floor. 

Could the horizontal walls upstairs have any load bearing role? Its a truss roof with a W shape frame.

Feels too long a span for the roof joists to go with out some support.

grumbler

Zimchenko said:

Joists run from top to bottom on the plan attached. ...

Could the horizontal walls upstairs have any load bearing role?...
Feels too long a span for the roof joists to go with out some support.

Absolutly

weeg

Possibly, but unlikely. Trusses can span 6.5m easily. No way to really tell without seeing it.

I'm less familiar with 1970s houses, but current wimpey houses of that size all span clear across.

stuart45

weeg said:

Possibly, but unlikely. Trusses can span 6.5m easily. No way to really tell without seeing it.

I'm less familiar with 1970s houses, but current wimpey houses of that size all span clear across.

I've worked on Wimpey and Laing sites in the 70's and Fink trusssed rafters were normally used which were designed to span the footprint without support. The roof was pitched and tiled before the upper partition walls went up.
The main difference to the modern roof is that the diagonal bracing was not used back then.

Zimchenko

Appreciate the replies. So assuming there is no supporting wall, once I have chipboard down, am I still able to store the 25kg per sqm they advise for newer homes? The ceiling joists appear to be 95mm in depth.

Rosa_Damascena

Knock on the walls to work out if they are stud. Therein lies your answer.

NSG666

Should be fine. If in doubt upgrade your home insurance to cover DIY disasters

FreeBear

Rosa_Damascena said: Knock on the walls to work out if they are stud. Therein lies your answer.

Even if the walls are of stud construction, they could still be providing structural support. If in doubt, get the opinion of a structural engineer.

weeg

Rosa_Damascena said:

Knock on the walls to work out if they are stud. Therein lies your answer.

No offense, but this is absolutely terrible advice! You get load bearing stud walls. Most new builds have them.

weeg

Zimchenko said:

Appreciate the replies. So assuming there is no supporting wall, once I have chipboard down, am I still able to store the 25kg per sqm they advise for newer homes? The ceiling joists appear to be 95mm in depth.

Yes, the loading advice was the same back then.

stuart45

Even if there's nothing below a stud wall, it can still be load bearing. A trussed partition is an example, which can take the load of the floor under it as well as the roof.