Garage Door Header Construction

The beam they have specified now is 3 1 2 x 12 x 18 9.

Garage door header construction.

That means you will place wall studs every 16 inches. Layout the bottom plate and one of the top plates at 16 on center. Last pull a measurement from the top of the 2 x 6 piece of lumber that you just installed to the ceiling of the garage. Local and national building codes have specific structural requirements pertaining to beam sizes to span specific wall openings relative to the wall loads so consult your local building department before beginning this.

These fabricated wood products can span longer distances and carry greater loads. Header requirement 2 at minimum the header should be 12 wide with doubled 2 4 at opening and ceiling running the width of the door with a 2 4 in the center of the opening for the center bracket to attach to. You get the picture. This is a typical spacing for most residential construction.

If it s 9ft the opening must be 9ft 3 inches and so on. This beam is suitable for garages with a second floor above. Building a structural header for a garage door opening can be handled on the jobsite and will offer the same structural support as more expensive solid wood beams. Place your door openings where you want them and layout the correct rough opening size.

For instance if the width of the garage door is 8ft the rough opening should be 8ft 3 inches wide. Header the header is ideally a minimum 12 wide micro laminated beam that spans the width of the garage door opening. Attach lumber to the face of the garage wall to the edge of the garage door header. Cut a 2 x 6 piece of lumber and nail to the face of wall exactly in the center of the garage header.

On previous projects i have been supplied a glu lam boise makes specifically for garage door headers that was 3 1 2 x 11 1 4 x 18 9. The width of the rough opening should be 3 inches greater than the width of the garage door you are purchasing.