I am building a 2/12 shed roof addition on my cabin. The low wall will bear the rafter load and can be about 7′ tall to achieve the pitch. I have found 6’4″ exterior doors, but need advice on framing the header. Can I use a 6″ engineered header and have it meet the plate? I’m double plating everything, but can make this fit if I marry the header to the upper top plate and omit the lower top plate. Any advice? My code guy’s pretty rough.
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Replies
Why not?
Assuming your header size is adequate for the load, I don't see why you couldn't. You have full bearing at the door whether it's 2x stock... or header stock. You also still retain your top plate's purpose of continuously tying your framed walls together.
Duck!!!
Cast_N_Blast wrote: My code guy's pretty rough.
I'm surprised your code guy'd approve a 6'-4" exterior door height....
I suspect you need a redesign. Drop the entry several inches with an interior landing, put the entry on the side, add a dormer, etc.
raise it?
Can you put the header above the top plate of the wall? Essentially, for this little bit of the wall, think of the "header" as a "rim" joist in a conventional platform framed structure.
You'd have to cut your rafters above the door shorter than the others and hang them off of the header with hangers. Then attach false tails on the exterior of the house to match the tails of the other rafters.
It does depend on your height-above-plate, etc, as to how much height you have to work with for this "header". But your HAP might be sufficient since you have a low-slope roof.
Another option if you don't have anough HAP would be to double up the roof rafters on either side of the door from ridge to wall plate. Header off between those doubled up rafters just inside of the exterior wall. Then run the rafters that are over the door from the ridge to that header.
What you’re doing is you are sort of framing the roof rafters as if they were supporting a skylight and taking the load off the top plate in the area over the door.
Just a couple of ideas.