Can I Knock Out This Wall?

I want to open up my kitchen to the living room and a friend told me to first check if it is load bearing? What is that and can I still do it if it is?

Load bearing walls are just that, they bear the load of floors/ceilings above and/or roofs. There are main or direct load bearing walls and tributary load bearing walls. In a simple design such as a basic rectangular ranch with a gable style roof the walls with the gutters bear most of the weight. The end or gable walls are for the most part non load bearing, but depending on interior framing they can be carrying roof load from the ridge. Another factor that determines load is if the roof was “stick built” or built with trusses. Stick built houses allow some of the roof weight to be transferred to interior walls, while truss built roofs transfer the load through their design to the exterior walls. In a house with a hip roof (gutters all sides) all exterior walls share some of the load. In simple designs there is usually a wall running down the center of the long axis of the house, and this is usually a load bearing wall because the ridge (centerline) of the roof is being directly supported by does the distinction between load and non load bearing walls. This is not a job for amateurs; I would strongly recommend hiring a professional to complete the structural part of this project. IA list of qualified and competent builders and remodelers can be obtained from your local Home Builders Association, or you can contact me and I will recommend someone in your area.