Thank you for your input. At a first glance, I didn't think it was a load bearing wall or any thing of that sort, but upon further inspection; I found that the floor joist are standing side by side on top of the top plate of that frame (red circle) - this was what made me think it was a load bearing wall.

So to be clear here, IF that wall is bearing loads, i can just remove the Whole (red circled) wall and add a support post and that would work?

Going to just put it out there first that you should probably get engineering advice. With that said, you can in my experience just have support post rather than an entire wall. You'd have to have an engineer tell you how many are necessary to carry the load and at which distance. You'd have to get permits for a project like that. You'd first have to build a temporary wall, then get rid of the current wall then do supports. Our current basement has 4 supports for an an approximate 1200 ft2 space above it.

Looking at the dimensions, It is hard to tell if you have a center main beam holding up your floor joists. We would have to know how your floor joists and beams run for the whole floor to get a real understanding to help you know if its ok or not.

I guess at the end of the day, I have to consult with an engineer to do this project.

Thanks littlemonkeys3! I did not know I had to get a permit. That could've been a headache to deal with in the future. I'm glad to know at least its do-able.

Vith- What are the type of ways the floor joists and beams can run? Or more so specifically what i want to ask is, what information would you need to determine if its okay or not? I have a light architectural background, so hopefully I can help out in some way?

Appreciate the help guys!

Ben, they are supposed to run perpendicular to one another. So if the joists are running north/south for example, the main support runs east/west.

The floor joist is running perpendicular to the top plate of the red circled area. But even so, as long as an engineer can determine how many and where the support beams goes, I'll be happy. At the moment, that area just looks like a deep dark hallway into the cellar.

Is this 'top plate' a beam or just the top 2x4 for the wall. If its not a beam it is not really a load bearing wall. It kind of holds weight inherently just because it is perpendicular to the floor joists, but it is not completely needed if there isn't a support beam above it.

is the door frame supposed to have that many studs??

Perfect! thank you Vith, that was a crucial piece of information I needed.

Well, looks like it is load bearing, First picture has a header and studs for a point load.

Second picture, the 'top plate' of the wall isnt just one 2x4 for a standard wall, its a double 2x6 or 2x8.

The third picture has the end of two floor joists (with a block between) on top of the double plate, and a point load underneath it (multiple studs).

Pictures are always much better than trying to explain it. Hope you read this before you try to do anything. I wont give advice for critical things without pictures in the future.

Yeah, I'm trying to call an engineer to take a look and see what i can do about the wall.

Sorry about the bad news, I am thinking you could do a beam and a couple point loads on the ends and new footers underneath the point loads. Gotta get numbers crunched though, I don't know how to calculate loads.

Aside from hiring an engineer, some knowledgeable builders might be able to help you. You could call them in to give you a quote for the work to be done, and discuss whether or not it's a load bearing wall at the same time. If it is load bearing, it's probably not something you'd want to tackle by yourself anyway.

Do you know for sure that this wall was put in by the original builder? I admit to not being extremely knowledgeable about these things, but that doesn't look like any supporting structure that I've ever seen. Wouldn't a simple beam with support posts have been simpler, stronger, and just as cost-effective?

Vith: Thanks, this is going to take some time to sort out and plan. I wouldnt even know where to begin calculating the loads, but i guess thats what engineer are there for.. haha.

Greasetrap: yeah, if I could find a builder that can do all that for me, that'd be great.

And no, im not sure if the walls were put up by the original builders. IMO, It looks disorganized. I don't know if it makes a difference, but it looks like there's a 2x4 concrete slab running across the whole bottom plate of that wall. I was taught that the height of the basement (up to ceiling/bottom floor joist) = bottom stud plate + vertical stud + 2 top plates. In this case its : concrete plate + bottom stud plate + vertical stud + 2 top plates... - i assume it will be alot of work to level out the floorings later...

Benjamin, I would think that an experienced builder could look at it and tell you what needs to be done right off the bat, without going to the expense of hiring an engineer. There's nothing wrong with getting a quote and then deciding to do all or part of the work yourself.

The reason I asked if the original builder put up the wall, is that the work looks kind of amateurish to me. Why go to the trouble of building a wall, using that much wood and not finishing it, when a simple beam with support posts would have been much easier to do. What is on the floor over that wall? Maybe a previous owner was trying to correct a problem or trying to put in additional support for something heavy (like a waterbed).

If the wall is a true bearing wall, I would think that it's also supporting another bearing wall on top of it. I'm having a bearing wall taken down on my first floor and wanted to move one of the supports for the beam that the builder is putting in. My builder told me that the support had to be there because it would sit over a support in the basement and it's important to transmit the load from above all the way to the ground.

"There's nothing wrong with getting a quote and then deciding to do all or part of the work yourself."

Great to know! I thought that I had to commit after getting a quote from the builder.

If you're referring to the multiple studs where the door area is, I completely agree. My initial impression was that the previous owner installed whats there and just didn't finish it. But, that wall (along with 2 other walls and washroom) are listed on the floor plan.

Note: there is no physical washroom pieces/unit(s)

If I were you, I would talk to several builders, pick their brains as much as possible, and then decide if you want one of them to do all or part of the work. If it really is a bearing wall, you might want to hire one of them to replace it with a beam and supports.

My other question though, is what sits on top of that wall. If there's nothing over it on the first floor, then I would doubt that it's a true bearing wall.

That doorframe does look odd. Maybe they laminated several boards together? You do normally (in my experience - again not a professional) need more support around openings, however this is a strange way to do that. What I find odd is that if this is supposed to be a main support, why does it not span the who width of the house. You have a 1/3 of the basement not covered by it.

Because the structure is L- Shaped, I dont know what the space is where the big X is, but the wall in question is in the middle of part of the L. Everything in the pictures supplied would tell any contractor its load bearing. There is no way to know if it is not load bearing without inspecting the entire structure layout but from what we know in the pictures it is load bearing. I know for sure it is completely needed for two floor joists as those joists end on it. You also don't know if there is a point load on the floor above it right above the point loads shown in the pictures. The door area may look strange to some but it is not that odd... there are multiple studs at the door in question because of the load bearing header holding multiple floor joists.