Hello,

I am framing in an opening for an overhead door; the opening for the door is 8' x 8' (WxH)), while the entire opening to be filled is 11' x 9' (WxH).

As I am not well versed in framing, I was wondering which of the two approaches I describe would be the best one to use. The framing material will be 2x6 fir.

Here are the two approaches:






Thanks for any insight you can provide to me on this,

Jon

 

Neither will work, since you need a header over the opening.

 

Okay, thanks, but what do you mean by a header, and how would I apply one to my situation?

I apologize for my ignorance, but as I said in my post I do not know much about framing.

Thanks,

Jon

 

header would be board on edge over opening, double thickness or even triple thickness depending on load to be carried can have plywood spacers between boards i believe. but hopefully more experienced framers will chime in.

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies

 

A header is a beam that is strong enough to carry any weight that bears down directly over the opening. Your header would need to be 3" longer than your rough opening is wide. It would fit between the king studs. Trimmer studs would go underneath the header, and once they are installed, the rough opening would be 8' wide.

The size and makeup of a header is determined by the weight that will bear on it. At the most, you could fit a 2x10 header under your double top plate. I won't get into sizing your header for you, since too many variables are involved.

There's plenty of info regarding "framing walls" if you search the forums here, or on the internet. It sounds like maybe you need some pictures to help you visualize things.

 

Okay thanks, I see what you're talking about now. In this situation though, the opening already exists in a structurally sound design. What I am doing is just adding the framework to attach the overhead door tracks, and the siding and whatnot on the outside.

In any case, any recommendation on which of the two techniques is the better one?

 

It would be closer to your bottom illustration, but around the garage door opening you will want to have double studs on each side, as well as across the top. You're also missing cripples and maybe studs that would keep everything 16" OC. (on center)

Personally, I'd still do it just the way I described, with a header over the opening instead of short cripples. If you do use cripples, they should follow the same 16" OC layout as all the other studs in the rest of the wall. (if there are any)

Since you don't need a double top plate (since you clarified things in your last post about what's already there) you could also accomplish the same thing by installing a 2x12 header over the entire 11' opening, then supporting it with a trimmer stud on each end of the 11' opening, and 2 trimmer studs on each side of your 8' opening.

There's always more than one way to accomplish the same thing. If you want other opinions, just wait another day or two and I'm sure you'll get some.

 

In addition to the structural header, you will want to finish out the sides such that a piece of trim can seal against the outer surface of the door.

Why not find a subdivision where houses are being built and examine the framing in the garage for the doors before the drywall goes up.

 

In addition, your header must sit on a jack stud and the jack stud must be sistered to a king stud reaching all the way to the top. Then cripples every 16" on top of the header continuing the flow of stud spacing. And as IBM says, make sure your spacing allows for your ultimate trim. In other words, if your doors call for an opening of 96", then your framing must be 97 1/2" to allow for 3/4" trim on either side.

 

Thanks Chandler, and everyone else as well. I have looked at some pictures detailing the terms, and I'm getting a better idea of how I want to be going about this.

One question however, is about the headers. I will be using two 2/6s on their edges for the headers. Since everything else is made of 2x6s, the two boards for the header won't be wide enough for all six inches (while if this was a 2x4 frame, they would be the right width).

What is the best way to correct for this, add more header boards, put something between them, other?

 

You may have to increase it to at least 2x8 for your 11' span, and sandwich them with 1/2" plywood. You will be using 3 2x8's with a 1/2" piece of plywood cut 7 1/2" wide by the length you need between the two center pieces. That will give you the 5 1/2" you need to allow it to sit perfectly on your 2x6 wall. Hope this answered your question.

 

Hi Chandler, thanks again for your help. I found a diagram which I think will solve a lot of my problems, especially with a reduced header length (about an eight foot span) with which I am hoping I would be able to use three 2x6s to make. Does this look plausible?

Here is the diagram of how I think would work: (it is not to scale, just showing how the boards are put together).



Thanks again.

 

Now you're talking!! Looks like a plan. Just maintain your 16" oc spacing over the header so your wall covering will fall properly, and you're good to go, and the 2x6's will be fine, tripled and in a shorter form.