When it comes to headers and jacks…is a gable end wall considered bearing or not ?
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Not enough information. For example, is there a cathedral ceiling with a structural ridge? If so, there's definitely a load path to consider.
Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
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None of this matters in geological time.
The walls are 2x6 24 oc these are supporting engineered trusses. However you may have noticed gable ends are not true trusses. The end "trusses" are nothing more than top and bottom chord (5:12 pitch) with 2x4 verts at 24" oc. My point is...there is basically no point loading at any particular stud along this end wall. The load is spread along the lower chord and the top plate. What the problem is, I have a 6 foot window with a 4x12 header (it was sittin around ok) and only 1 jack but code says 2 jacks for bearing walls. No snow loads on the Oregon coast .
Keith
For vertical loads, you re OK IMO, but there are always maverick building inspectors who don't know so they go for the extreme.
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Thanks for your reply Piffin..and anyone else that wants to chime in. I took an engineering class in statics and we did lots of trusses and guy wires so I have a bit of understanding of the subject. By the way the trusses are the common Fink truss. But the end walls are just plain gabel ends. Imagine a 28 by 28 foot garage with 2 foot overhang on the gabel. By the way.. I think there are only 2 or 3 inspectors in the county. When we did the first inspection before the slab pour the inspector said "what is it?" I said small cottage stage 1. Then he said "well you got your Ufer (rebar in foundation as a ground rod..required) you got something for me to sign? "
Keith
but there are always maverick building inspectors who don't know so they go for the extreme.
I recently ran into one of those inspector types. I had a 9' opening in a gable wall with absolutely no weight on it. Just to play it safe, I put in a double 2x12 header on doubled jacks. It failed inspection-he wanted microlams. So, without shoring anything up, I pulled out the 2x12 and put in the micros. The studs that it was "supporting" didn't actually touch the header, but I suppose when the nonexistent forces get heavy enough, the 1/8" gaps will dissappear!
blue
Aint that a hoot Blue. My question still remains.. is a gabel endwall a bearing wall. I guess It's in the eye of the beholder..or inspector.
Keith
> ... without shoring anything up, I pulled out the 2x12 ....
That's only fun if he's there watching. ;-)
-- J.S.
Blue: my inspector did the same thing. Made me put a header over a 6' door opening in a gable wall with no loading other than self-weight. Was easier to do it than to argue with him. Dunno-maybe the steel column supporting the ridge beam in that wall confused him into thinking that the rest of the wall was bearing a load. Fortunately he's been pretty reasonable aside from this.
Was easier to do it than to argue with him.
I agree. In my younger days, I mighta fought him tooth an nail. I might have ripped out the header and left it bare, then called for a re-inspection!
Nowadays, I know I'm going to run into multitudes of people that don't have a clue and yet I have to please. There isn't anything I can do about it, so I just cave in and waste the lumber and time.
blue
L<OL, you must come across as thje kind of guy who wanmts to STICK it to them, so they just don't TRUSS you
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If your gable-end roof trusses are sheeted with plywood (or OSB), as they probably are, wouldn't that stiffen them up eneough? Similar to a shear-wall. Then the wall below is non-bearing, and no headers are required.