Hi All, I would like to remove a wall that separates my living room and den. They are on the main floor of a 2 story house. How can I tell if it is a load bearing wall? Want to do this without cutting holes if I can...or at least try to. In by basement I have the posts that hold up the beam, this beam runs from the back of the house to the front, pretty much right in the center of the house. The joists then run left to right. The wall I am trying to remove does not cross that beam in the basement. I can tell it runs in from the center of that beam (there is a wall running parallel to that beam on the the main floor) to the right side of the house. It is 12 feet in length if that makes a difference. Also if I do have to cut a hole in it to double check where is the best place to do this...center and top of wall? Thanks for any help and pointers! Rawky.

When installling a suspended ceiling, should I stagger the joints where the main tees connect to each other, or does it not matter. for example: If the room is 20' long, can I use all 12' and 8' mains or use a 12' & 8' run, then a 10' & 10' run, so on and so forth.