Identifying a load bearing wall

Hello,

I'd like to remove a wall that divides my kitchen/dining room that I believe to NOT be load bearing. Here are the signs which indicate to me that the wall is not load bearing:

--Wall runs parallel to the floor joists in the basement
--The wall that runs on center through the house, which I know to be load bearing (directly above the main support beam in the basement) is 2x6; this wall is 2x4.
--No beam directly below wall in basement. No wall stacked directly above on 2nd floor.

The only thing that makes me slightly unsure is that there are 2 floor joists below this wall's bottom plate (and all other interior, parallel walls on this floor). It's basically a joist, an inch or so gap, then another joist right below that wall's bottom plate. Is this normal for a non-load bearing wall?

Thoughts/opinions on my wall? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!
Dan

 

I'm no expert, but (since nobody else has replied in 2 hours), here's my 2 cents worth:
All the indicators that you have mentioned seem to "support" (no pun intended) the idea that the wall in question is not load bearing.
I'd suggest checking one other thing, while waiting for those with more experience to reply:
Check the ceiling joists (floor joists for the floor above) above this wall: if they overlap above the wall, then it probably is load bearing.
Good luck.

 

If the wall runs parallel to the floor and ceiling joists it is likely non load bearing. The "joists" below may be nailers for the interior walls.

 

I have a colonial, so I can't see the floor joists for the second floor. Is there any other way to determine what direction those joists run in? Do the floor joists generally run the same direction for each floor? It that's the case, the wall runs parallel to the joists I see in the basement.

 

I actually found a book on Google that illustrates the doubled-joists that I see below the interior walls in the house. It seems they're doubled to support the weight of the wall itself:

Structure - Google Books

Anyone have any other thoughts on whether or not my wall is or isn't load bearing?

 

If you have plank flooring, it will run perpendicular to the floor joists. so you can tell that way as well. What does your roof look like? My roof is two intersecting gables. So I have roof rafters resting on the top of several interior walls. I would look for that kind of thing above the wall to see if it supports anything. If there is an open roof directly above it, I doubt it is load bearing.

 

Well, there's an open room above the wall in question and an open roof above that.

 

I just took the door moulding off and found that this wall has 2x3 studs/plates. I'm pretty convinced now that this wall is not load bearing.