Question about old homes with shiplap walls

[adkat]

Does anyone here have any construction or remodeling experience with older homes with shiplap walls? I have an older home with internal walls like this and I am hoping to remove a section of wall to open my kitchen to another room but I wasn't sure if they were also considered load bearing. I am also worried since this particular section of wall is possibly and original external wall before the porch was made into a room. Mostly I am curious if it's possible to make adjsutments to these types of walls or if I am just stuck with the walls I have.

I am definitely not a structural engineer and will most certainly have someone competent to do the actual work. This is more of just planning phases and curiosity. However if anyone also has recomendations on someone or a company that can deal with issues like this that would be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance!

[RedScare]

What kind of house, and what size? In general, the old bungalows are load bearing around the circumference, and one long wall down the center, but you have to look in the attic to make sure. Go up in the attic above the wall you wish to remove. If the ceiling joists begin or end above this wall, it is load bearing. If the joists span continuously to either side, the wall is probably not load bearing.

The best way to tell for sure is to look at the direction the wall and the joists run. In my house, the joists run from the outside walls to the center wall. The center wall is the monster load bearing wall. All of the walls that are perpendicular to that wall, and parallel to the joists, are non-load bearing.

[GREASER]

the shiplap has nothing to do with load bearing. If you are trying to take out was an outside wall, then that wall would be load bearing. Depending on how big open up is, you can just install a header and remove a couple of studs.

Redscare I stand corrected. Depending on which way the rafters run...larger houses have rafters in different directions...you will have to look

[RedScare]

I'm with ya greaser. Here's an example of what we're talking about, adkat.

If you look to the left or right side of the picture, those walls are load bearing. The rafters in the attic run from left to right. The wall in the front of the picture is parallel with the rafters, and so is not load bearing, even though it has shiplap. So, we cut away.

[adkat]

Thank you all for the input! Next stop is a trip to the attic and see what we have I also have the long center wall So I'm sure that's what you're referring to.