In the process of hanging some vertical blinds on the sliding glass door to the patio. Since there should be a header above I thought i would hit wood while attaching the 3 brackets . Nothing but air behind the drywal and I had to use the anchors l……..how can this be?
Dan
Skim-coating with joint compound covers texture, renews old drywall and plaster, and leaves smooth surfaces ready to paint.
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Replies
The header could be elevated. Sometimes, for various reasons the headers get held higher and framing is dropped below. Structurally it's stronger on the jacks and kings.
2x6 wall framing with a 4x header held outboard to the framing then a 2x6 nailed flat under the header for drywall and trim.
Seen it a hundred times.
You could also have 2x6 walls and the header which is 2-2x's held to the outside and you are drilling into the jamb extention.
"It is what it is."
Maybe the header is in a location you're not finding, as the others noted.
Or, maybe the wall does not require a header. There are a lot of places on a typical home where people expect to see headers but, in reality, all they're there for is so the customer or building inspector doesn't get inquisitive.
What's above the door in question? Roof eaves, roof rake, floor system?
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
The framing is 2x4 and is the wall supporting the roof trusses, so I would expect to hit the header because I hung the same type of blinds on a window that was about as wide as the sliding door and hit nothing but wood.
Standard for us is to install headers at 82 1/2" above subfloor. Often patio doors are dimensioned to the outside of the frame, which I find weird but that's how it is. So, a 6'-8" Andersen slider is 80" to the top of the frame, which leaves 2-1/2" of air space above the frame. It doesn't hurt anything because the trim spans the gap.
The doorwalls with 80" heights are replacement type doorwalls designed to fit into existing Masonry openings and frames.
OK, but all the details are the same as non-"replacement type."
Most doors you order as 3'-0" x 6'-8", 3'-0" x 7'-0", or 3'-0" x 8'-0" and you get door panels that are close to that nominal size.
With Andersen, if you order a 3'-0" x 6'-8" door you get a door that's 6'-6" tall.
I've made the mistake enough times now that mostly I avoid Andersen, but if I do order Andersen I get the 7'-0" tall unit. I'm sure I'm not the first guy that put a short door into a tall hole and called it good.
RO height for Sliding Glass door units (Patio doors) with the units I have installed have always been 2" shorter than framed entry doors here.
Pella (IIRC) was one that was different, and seemed to be shorter even yet but I can't remember for certain. PITA when it came to trying to align header trim.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Marvin for one sells two standard height patio doors. One takes a standard 6'10 1/2" RO and the other size is 2" shorter, IIRC. Still, if you have to line up the trim on doors and adjacent windows you better be paying attention. My palms sweat just thinking about it.
You live in a trailer. <G>
Back to your original question: I will often leave a couple of inches of air between the header and the top of a slider to avoid any problems with roof snow-load squashing. As Jim (I think) mentioned, I want the jacks taking the load; not the door frame.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
We were required to leave 1/4" minimum clearance in the rough over door frames. Sometimes that wasn't possible. We typically tried to leave 3/8" or 1/2".
LOL. Thanks; you just educamated me again. I didn't know it was capital-R Required; I just knew it worked. I'm bad that way sometimes....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Edited 8/23/2008 12:02 am ET by Dinosaur
It seems to me the possibility of a single header, 2" foam on the interior and may or may not have a 2x on the flat, nailed into the single header to form an ell. therefore you woold not hit framing. May not even have foam or a 2x on flat. It's amazing what you see when you tear into other peoples work sometimes.....