Headers For Door Opening Double Floor Joists

Cut the door header.

Headers for door opening double floor joists.

Header spans for exterior walls on buildings 20 wide. On this project the engineer specified the header rim joist requirements for each opening as well as the number of king studs. Roof ceiling 6 10 1. Girders are found in floor systems spanning across piers and support the weight of floor joists.

A 36 door has a rough opening width of 38 so your header is cut at 41. To make the door header the top of the door frame cut two 2x4s to the same length as the width of the original opening and nail them securely together. This is the actual thickness of a 2x4. On the second floor nonbearing openings again may not need headers.

And for wide openings you may prefer a conventional header. You will need to add 1 2 of plywood between the 2x4 s to get the right wall thickness of 3 1 2. A typical header width with single jack studs is cut 3 larger than the rough opening. Also be aware double or triple jack studs may be required based on the opening width and the load the header carries.

Most door frames that are 4 feet wide or less require a 2 by 6 header. Between 4 and 5 feet the header should be built 2 inches wide and 8 inches long while a larger opening needs a header that is 2 by 12. On wider openings like mulled windows and patio doors we ran the rim joist continuously over the opening and added an lvl on the inside of the rim joist essentially building a 2 ply header in the floor system. Number of plies and jacks in 2 2 x 8 2 2 x 10 2 2 x 12 3 2 x 10 3 2 x 12 4 2 x 12.

When in doubt use 2 by 12 inch headers. On the first floor of a two story house you may have no structural headers for openings in the gable wall and then use box headers or rim joist headers in the load bearing walls. They are often positioned beneath load bearing walls.