need advice please removing window and installing 6′ french door in load bearing wall
Hello to all
I need a little advice on as how to remove a 3′ window and install a 6′ french door leading to a new deck i will be building. First the house is a 1.5 story cape code with a full dormer running the entire lenght of the side of the house that this new door location will be going in at. . The floor joists from the 2nd floor are running parralell with the wall that will recieve new door location . I verifyed this buy looking in the attic. I have done this before but just not with the wall running parallel with the joists. I know i need to temporarly support the wall to install a proper header to support the new load transfer. So my question is how do you support this wall without getting into the way of my new header. Before when i need to do this i just built a wall 3ft in to support the overhead floor joists. but this wont work as the floor joist are supported by the opposing wall. I dont need a structrual engineer and i have many years of Industrial cunstruction under my belt i am just looking for a simple solution no liability for advice. I’d ask my boss but im on vacation for a few weeks and needless to say when we talk i end up working. We work 24/7 so i need all the time i can get. Also the existing harwood flooring in the room to recieve this new door are going to be replaced so im not afraid of nailing anything to it. Thanks for the help Andy
Replies
I think you may be over thinking it
if I understand correctly the rim joist is the only load above the window you are removing. The rim should be able to support any load the wall has while you enlarge the opening and add the longer header.
The only problem I see would be if there is a substantial point load (ridge post) above your opening. If the rim joist and plate remain I think you could probably pull it off if you work somewhat quickly.
Hope this helps
jim
quick vs careful
I think jim's right. If you're able to open it up and close it in again within a couple of hours you should be able to do it without supports. The wall above will act as a sort of header and carry whatever load there may be (other than a large point load) while you work.
On da other hand. If you're feeling cautious there was an article in the FHB magazine some time back - a year or two - that had to do with installing a header into a bearing wall one ply at a time. If I remember right it involved a certain amount of quality time spent with your friendly neighborhood sawzall.
j
Assuming you are opening up both sides I like the "half at a time" trick. Set your jacks on the outboard sides and pop a string line. Use a circular saw to cut half way through the studs in top about every 3" and break out the chunks, then remove that header half. Put in your new longer header and then do the other side. Just be sure your top cut and jack height results in a tight fit on the new header.
I did some of that "saw and break out the chunks" trick when I framed a pocket door in a wall without disturbing the finish on the other side.
Although it might not be necessary to use temp support at all, you'd sure hate to be wrong.
Temp support doesn't have to come straight down, provided whatever you are supporting can't move laterally. I held up a whole second story once by using 2 x 6's running down at an angle from the outside of a house into the dirt. I think we lagged a temporary ledger board above where the new header was going, and butted our temporary braces into that. Lived to tell the tale.
Tend to agree w/ the others ... you are overly concerned. However ... a dormer running the full length, but the joists are parallel to the wall in question ... that means you don't have a floor load from above, but you do have a full roof load, am I right? I'm assuming it is a shed dormer, so the exterior wall above your door is a load bearing wall for the dormer roof.
If there is no load on the wall at all from the floor or the roof above that, then you have a non load bearing wall and at least theoretically, you have no load to worry about ... you wouldn't need a header. I built a new house under inspector scrutiny w/ no headers over 3ft windows in a non bearing wall ... no issues, no worries. But most people would use a header for the little loads you do have. But since you are doing it ... minimize it and make sure you design a header that has some insulation in it. You may only need e.g. a single 2x for the header ... plenty of space to insulate!