I have a framed wall that needs a window opening added (sheathed but with no interior or exterior finishes applied). The studs are standard 2×6 16″ o.c. and the window fits a 30×48 rough opening.
Unfortunately the location of the studs relative to the preferred window location is not optimal, so I would have a lopsided-looking wall if I repurpose one of the existing studs as a jack or king stud. If I add new king studs (drawing on the left) there’d be some annoyingly tight toenailing but nothing too terrible.
My question (more out of curiosity than anything) is whether the drawing on the right is a reasonable approach. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen that done, so I’m wary. I could imagine that the additional cost of the header (and potentially having to up-size it for the wider span) is generally not worth the labor savings, and that adding an opening to an existing-but-unfinished wall is rare, but are there any other pitfalls I’m missing?
It would leave marginally more room for insulation and save a trivial amount of wood, and possibly a bit of time. Also is there a name for the approach pictured on the right?
