Attic Trusses Resting On Non Bearing Wall

It is carrying the weight of the ceiling.

Attic trusses resting on non bearing wall.

Interior walls might be load bearing or may not be. An example of a non load bearing partition wall can be seen on the left. An example of a load bearing wall call be seen on the right. The concern is that when the truss deflects the non bearing wall could be an effective support point.

Ceiling joists that meet over the wall indicate that it s a bearing wall. Non load bearing walls non loadbearing walls must comply with the requirements specified in the relevant standards as appropriate to the material. Chances are this is a non bearing wall. If your roof is trusses no walls internally are load bearing only the external walls are.

Unfortunately my home builder had framed out the attic using a common truss system utilizing 2x4 s see attached picture of exact type although my roof is much steeper and no middle non bearing wall below. If the wall in question is parallel to the joists trusses it will likely not be load bearing. Non loadbearing walls as designated shall not carry any truss loading and shall not be packed to touch the underside of trusses see figure below. The outside walls are supporting the roof so they re bearing walls.

Actually a quick way to determine if the wall is bearing is to cut hole at the top to see if it has one or two top plates. If there is a column that supports the truss found in the wall the wall still would not be load bearing because the column is taking the load. There may still not be any interior bearing walls but you should check carefully. If there is a truss over the wall the wall is probably not load bearing since the truss bears the load.

3 only part of the roof framing may be trusses and the rest is rafters as in the photo below. When joists trusses are perpendicular to the wall and bear on the top of the wall that wall is bearing wall. If the support point is at a truss panel point additional load could be put on the element supporting the non bearing wall thus causing distress. This is sometimes done by a homeowner to provide cleared space in the attic for storage but destroys the structural integrity of the truss.