Garage Door Header Requirements

Measure the width of your door frame.

Garage door header requirements. The longer the distance a header spans and the heavier the load it supports the more substantial it needs to be. This piece of. If you choose a header that is too small its weakness could lead to a collapse. These charts are for 30 pound per square foot snow load on the roof.

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. Together the headers king studs and trimmers act as a system that transfers weight from above down and around the window and door openings to the floor and foundation below. Cut a 2 x 6 piece of lumber and nail to the face of wall exactly in the center of the garage header. Loading conditions are detailed below.

The procedure for constructing a header for 6 inch exterior wall framing can be modified for any wall thickness. 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. Without headers of the proper size your walls could fall in. Window door garage door headers supporting roof wall floor loads.

For each application a pdf download is available. Header the header is ideally a minimum 12 wide micro laminated beam that spans the width of the garage door opening. All other data is available on page 121 of the 2012 international residential code. 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.

The international building code ibc dictates the sizes of headers to ensure that they. Span charts and 2012 irc building codes for girders and headers. When in doubt use 2 by 12 inch headers. 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.

Includes span tables for all load bearing locations and the number of jack studs. Also see assumptions for table development. Window door garage door headers supporting roof loads only.