Is this wall bearing?

I have a wall between my kitchen and dining room that I want to take down. I do not believe it is load bearing but not everyone who has seen it agrees with me on that. It is a 2 story row house with a basement and a footprint of about 20'x30'. A picture from a 3D model of the house describing the situation can be found at

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...aStructure.png

As you can see in the picture, the wall is partially under some joists that run parallel to the wall in question (N-S) and then towards the center of the house the direction of the joists above switches, so there are 5 joists above the wall running perpendicular to the wall in question (E-W).

The N-S joists above sit with one end in the back wall (brick) and the other on a single wooden joist that spans the width of the house (about 20'). This happens at 3 points in the structure of the house, twice with the joists supporting the 2nd floor (as shown in the picture), and once with the joists supporting the 1st floor. In the two cases that do not involve the wall that I want to tear down, there is a double beam in the E-W direction that supports the one end of the N-S beams, as opposed to the single beam above the wall in question. The concern is that the reason that they used only one beam is because they had additional support from the wall that I want to take down, although it could also be that the other two cases needed more support because they also support the opening for the steps.

There are additional structural concerns with this wall towards the back of the house shown in the picture, but this has been resolved with additional support. I am curious for any input regarding whether this wall is load bearing. Thanks in advance.

 

I can't tell from the picture

Can you see the top of the structure? Typically, a bearing wall will have a double top plate

 

My concern would be the single beam header. How much weight is on that? Is there a story above that floor and what's it look like directly under that wall you want to take down? If at all possible double or triple that single beam header or leave that portion of the wall directly under it. But the concentration of weight will be focused on that spot that you leave directly under that floor. That's all I can make from your pic. Hope it helps.

 

The best way to determine if a wall is a load bearing wall is to start in your basement or at the concrete pad level and work your way up through the levels of your home. Load bearing walls run perpendicular to the joists they support. Outside walls are usually load bearing, but not always. If the wall above has a support beam or there is a wall below, it's probable that it is a load bearing wall.

Its difficult to tell oftentimes and you may need to remove some drywall to be sure.

 

You may want to check out U tube. They have some good videos on load bearing walls and how to open them up, etc.