Load-bearing walls, post-frame construction method

Hello, we purchased a house about three years ago built with a timber frame construction (built in '92) and are now gradually renovating it for ourselves. The attic is finished, the basement / ground floor (Ytong) is roughly done as well. Now only the middle floor / upper floor (timber frame construction) is missing. Since I’m not entirely happy with the layout on the middle floor, I would like to remove / shorten several walls there. For two of the three walls, I am convinced that they are just "decorative" (simple room dividers) and can be removed without any concerns. The third one, however, gives me pause. It runs through the middle of the building, and directly underneath in the basement, there is a load-bearing wall. But whether this wall supports only the floor of the middle floor or also the wall above it is unknown to us. Knowledge in any case is a huge problem, since none of the companies involved back then still exist and the existing plans unfortunately provide no further information. (simpler floor plan) We have good contact with the previous owners and builders, but unfortunately, when it comes to technical explanations, all we get are empty words. Therefore, the question now is, how can I as a layperson recognize a load-bearing timber frame? (before the building collapses on me... :rolleyes In this context, it would also be important to ask how critical it would be to remove the cladding from this wall? I don’t want it to already be a stiffening element of this wall... Or in timber frame construction, are all internal ->walls<- just decoration and the load rests on individual posts / studs inside them? The format is specified as 194mm for this wall, the other two (as well as those already removed in the attic) are only 125mm. Please don’t misunderstand the questions now, I have already asked supposed "experts" here from the area (to possibly involve them in the renovation) but they generally refrain from any statements because they "were not involved in the construction of the building" and the consequential costs "are not calculable." (to put it kindly) So we’re left with "do-it-yourself" for the renovation. With the intended emphasis on "renovation" and not on "demolition"... Thanks to you all already at this point. Marco

I am convinced that these are just "show"

is beyond our knowledge.

Anyway, *the knowledge* is a huge problem

what can I as a layman

alleged "experts" from around here

"the man himself does it"

Do you notice something? Maybe call someone who knows about it, namely a structural engineer. He will shed light on the dark guessing, everything else would be wrong.

You are probably right, but there is no need to carry wood to the forest when there is a simple identifying feature that could have been found out by asking.

From what I have read so far, in our good building law almost every second thing has to be proven with certificates, identification numbers, etc. - maybe it's the same for such things.

So far I have been lucky, someone from the construction site could always help me. If that is not the case here, I won't be spared from going to that mathematician - I am already at that point.

Thanks anyway.

No honestly, when it comes to structural analysis, the fun, guesswork, and do it yourself stop!

There are only signs, no clear features. Hiring anyone other than a structural engineer would be dangerously guessing!

In our new building, we also had the structural engineer calculate for our waterbed. It didn't change anything about the structure, but it has to be done.