How can I tell whether a wall is structural?
You cannot tell reliably by looking or knocking. Thickness, material and position give clues: reinforced concrete walls, walls around lift and stair cores, walls aligned with walls on floors above and below, and walls supporting beams are likely structural. The reliable answer comes from the approved structural drawings, confirmed by a Professional Engineer's site inspection and, where needed, scanning or a small investigative opening. Legally, only a wall that supports no load other than its own weight is 'non-load-bearing'.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Hacking Walls and Slabs in Singapore: Structural Elements, PT Slabs and Household Shelters. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
In Singapore you may remove or open a wall without BCA submission only if it is genuinely non-load-bearing, meaning it carries nothing but its own weight. Openings in reinforced concrete walls, beams, columns or most slabs need a PE's structural plans and a BCA permit before work starts. Household and storey shelters must not be hacked; only limited drilling and finishes are allowed under SCDF's rules.
More questions on this topic
- Do I need BCA approval to hack a non-structural wall?
- Can I core a hole through a floor slab for a pipe?
- Why are post-tensioned slabs so dangerous to core?
- Can I hack or modify my household shelter?
- What happens if structural works are done without a permit?
- Does a condo need to approve hacking inside my unit?
- Is scanning the slab enough before coring?