Sliding Door In Load Bearing Wall

Non load bearing windows and doors do not require a structural header.

Sliding door in load bearing wall. The header is usually made out of dimensional lumber installed on its edge. An engineer will be able to determine the necessary size of the header type of wood and the number of king studs and jack studs. So i removed this door video below and expanded this doorway. The header for a door is much like a bridge transferring the weight above it to the floor and foundation below.

Inserting a door or window in a load bearing wall can be a tricky situation but not an impossible one. Doors in a load bearing wall that holds the weight of the house created by beams and trusses need a larger header than those in non load bearing walls. If the wall is load bearing you will have to construct a temporary wall to support weight before you can install the header. In these instances there s a structural header that acts as a beam over the door to support the load or weight that s bearing down on that portion of the house.

That s why the header has to be twice as big. The reason why this project is so difficult is due to the potential danger a load bearing wall supports the structure so its absence through accidental destruction could lead to the room or entire house collapsing. Creating the opening for the new header may require temporary ceiling support while the header. Installing a pocket door in a load bearing wall requires replacing the old header with a longer one.

The first thing to understand is there could be a concentrated load above a door. This happens on bearing walls. However if you know where to cut into the wall the project is quite straightforward. You put the pocket door in and the hardware for it and you leave the exposed part and then it slides into the wall and that part gets covered with drywall.

This is an extra step that adds to the cost and it will probably have to be included in the plans you file to get the permit. However it s often necessary to involve a structural engineer as fred and kim did when they removed a load bearing wall.