Closet header question.

[ivwshane]

I will be remodeling a closet and need to add a header to the opening. The opening will be about 5'-6' wide and will have sliding doors on them. For this size opening what type of header will I need?

I'm thinking two 2x4's should be good, is that too much or too little?

[Pappy]

Someone else may know code requirements, but I wouldn't try to span that with anything less than 2x6. With the weight of the doors on them, I would even say 2x8 if you have the room.

[crokett]

It depends on whether the wall you are cutting into is loadbearing. If it is holding the house up you need to find out what code is for that span. If it is not structural then 2x4s will be fine since all you are doing is holding the doors up and not the house. In my basement I have 2 openings that are as wide as you want and they are framed with doubled 2x4s for the header. Just remember you still need your cripple studs between your top plate and the header.

[LarryG]

For sliding doors, use (2) 2x6 for the header; optionally, add a 1/2" plywood flitch plate to bring the width out to the 3-1/2" of the studs. When closed, half the weight of each door will be right in the middle of the header, so the 2x4 header that will work on hinged doors isn't stiff enough.

This assumes, as David points out, that the header isn't load bearing. If it is, use (2) 2x12s with a plywood flitch plate.

[footprintsinconc]

as david said, first you need to know if that wall is a load bearing wall or not. if so, the load needs to be figured out (floor load from above or roof load). its important to get the load (because if the load is big, you may not notice stress initially, but with time there will be consequences) figure out the tributary area for that wall get the load per linear foot for that wall and then the wood construction industry has charts that architects and home builders have and then you can size the header accordingly.

if the wall is not load bearing, then (2) 2x4's are plenty enough. the doors dont weigh much at all. worst case loading will be (2) doors in the middle of the opening. this amounts to nothing for (2) 2x4's. and do as david said about the cripple studs.

hope i wasnt too verbose...

[crokett]

Shane,

With all due respect to Larry, I have 2 pairs of 34" bifold doors framed in in my basement. A doubled 2x4 at the top (assuming no loadbearing wall) will work just fine. My header is a doubled 2x4 with ply flitch plate. After you add the 3/4" casing that header is not going to move. Bi-fold hollow-core doors are not all that heavy.

[LarryG]

Well, whatever. I know footsprintsinconc is a structural engineer, but I detail stuff like this for a living, and we never use anything less than (2) 2x6 for any non-bearing header over a double-wide open. We have learned that when dealing with light wood frame construction, just because something will "figure" on paper doesn't always mean it's good practice.

Besides, the difference in cost is, what, a whole dollar? It's simply not worth taking a chance on a substandard detail. But maybe that's just me.

[ivwshane]

Thanks guys.

In case it matters I will say this, all I am doing is simply inclosing an existing closet. The doors will either be standard six panel interior doors (like you find at lowes) or mirrored doors.

If I can use 2 2x4s in this case do I stack them vertically or horizontally?

[crokett]

You would stack them horizontally. Make a sandwich with 2x's and 1/2" ply. I do not know the size of your current opening but assuming it is close to the rough opening size you need then The door will be framed as: a top plate that runs horizontally along the ceiling. It sits on the king studs that are attached vertically to the existing walls on either side. Jack studs are attached to the kings and are the same length as the height you require for the rough opening. The header then sits on the jack studs and cripple studs run vertically from the header up to the top plate. I don't know what your flooring is but if it is concrete then your sill plate must be treated lumber.

What I would do is build this all as one piece then tip it up and put it in place. To keep it from racking as you install it, cut the sillplate the same length as the top plate. Then when you mark the sill plate for jack studs cut the bottom of the sill plate at those marks with a 3/4" deep kerf. This will leave the sill plate stiff enough to hold the wall straight. When you install it and cut the sill plate out, since you cut part way through from the bottom you won't munge up your flooring or your saw.

[footprintsinconc]

now i am going to have to be verbose this is intended for information. so enjoy.

general information:
at least here is phx (az) for exterior non-load bearing (NLB) wall (like inside patio wall, etc) for openings that are less than 4ft, (2) 2x4 on edges are detailed, for openings upto 8ft, (2) 2x6, upto 10ft (2) 2x8. however, on the outside walls of the house that are NLB, calcs need to be provided to prove that either (2) 2x4's ro 6's will work over single door openings and (2) 2x6 over double door or windows needs to be provided.

moving to the inside of the house:
** load bearing (LB) wall, all headers for openings are calculated and speced accordingly.
** interior NLB walls, the header over doors is not detailed on strutural drawings and is left up to the standards used by framers. this is because they are not structural and will not fail. they just use (1) 2x4 flat for openings less than 4ft. openings upto 6ish ft they use (2) 2x4's on edge or as i show in the sketch below (one flat, one on edge towards the inside of closet and the verticals between top and bot plate gets notched). in some cases, just one flat, with more vertical supports above. the thing to remember is once the drywall is on both sideds of the header framing, you are essentially creating a box section which is a lot stiffer than what you may think (obviously after provideding standard nailing between drywall and frame).

** i did a small calc to check a (1) 2x4 flat for 6ft. assuming a load of 20 plf (pounds per linear foot), the stresses in the wood at the extreme tension side was like 69psi, where my allowable stress is like 1700 psi. i dont even have to worry aboud deflections because of the boxed shape.

the point is, in this case when you dont have any load what so ever and the structure you are building is structurally insignificant, dont really need to over kill everything. that is all. this reply was only intened to be educational. hope this is explains something

[footprintsinconc]

here is the sketch, it was odd that i couldnt attach a 64kb pdf file?

[ivwshane]

the point is, in this case when you dont have any load what so ever and the structure you are building is structurally insignificant, dont really need to over kill everything. that is all. this reply was only intened to be educational. hope this is explains something

lol

I really went overboard!! I used a 4x6