RicodJour wrote:
Goedjn wrote:
On 17 Feb 2006 10:26:59 -0800, wrote:

Hi: It's a load bearing interior wall (2nd floor if that matters)

1) Is the header just two 2x4's or 2x6's fastened together on their
side attached to the top plate?
2) Is there one jack stud under each side of the header (or two?) and
then full studs next to that?


If it's load bearing, then you have to figure out what load
it's bearing. If there's a post coming down on it from
above, move the door. If it's just one or two joists,
for the floor or ceiling above, use two peices of lumber
the same size as the joists, with 1/2" plywood between to
make the thickness work out right. For a normal sized
doorway, just doubling the studs at the doorposts is enough,
but the lintel sits ON the second stud, it's not toenailed
to it.

Exactly.

If there's another load-bearing wall above,
use the biggest lumber for the lintel you can make fit,
up to a pair of 2x12s.

Not so exactly. The OP didn't mention the size of the doorway, but I'd
assume it's 4' or less - 2x12s is way overkill even if there is another
load bearing wall above.

The wall is an interior wall, so while possible, it's unlikely that
there are any roof loads being carried by that wall - check to be sure,
of course. The extra depth of the dimensional lumber header, beyond
what is required structurally, is a liability and not an advantage.
Besides the lumber costing more, it will shrink more as it ages/dries.
The additional shrinkage will be more likely to cause cracking.

For structural remodeling work it's preferable to use materials that
won't shrink the way dimensional lumber does. Another advantage is
that the thickness is 1 3/4" so two laminations is the same thickness
as the wall (assuming 2x4 construction) with no need to shim.

The smallest engineered header (paralam, microlam, etc.) your local
supplier carries, probably 9 1/2", will be more than enough to carry
the load even if there is another floor level or roof load. The
engineered header is also overkill most likely, but the advantages make
it a worthwhile consideration.

While the engineered lumber is preferable to a really deep dimensional
header, in all likelihood 2 @ 2x6 spanning 3' or less is all that would
be needed. Check the Canadian Wood Council's online span tool,
SpanCalc:
http://www.cwc.ca/design/tools/calcs... =&span_type=2

R

Great site, thanks.

I should have specified it was a regular aprox. 30 - 36 inch door.

I'm curious though for future reference what a "roof live load" is and
how to calculate it.