The issue was whether or not a suspected load-bearing wall could be removed on the first floor level. This is a question I get a lot, but the method for sorting out the load-bearing capacity of a particular studwall is far from straightforward. The short answer is that typically I figure out the load path of the structure from the roof and floor levels down to the foundation. Of course, the interior drywall or plaster covering all of the structural framing doesn’t make this easy on me! Many times, I rely on my prior knowledge of what that type of house looks like when it’s been gutted. Admittedly, I see older, pre-WW2 houses gutted more often than newer housing, and this was a 1970’s, two-story Colonial.