How To Build A Sliding Door Header

The openings were already there and eventually were filled in with mylar screening.

How to build a sliding door header.

The following will give you the general idea. Cut the door header. This is the actual thickness of a 2x4. You will need to add 1 2 of plywood between the 2x4 s to get the right wall thickness of 3 1 2.

To make the door header the top of the door frame cut two 2x4s to the same length as the width of the original opening and nail them securely together. The header is usually made out of dimensional lumber installed on its edge. I have 3 sliding doors that need to go into concrete block openings. For underlayment and 3 4 in.

Calculating header size is no picnic as you learn how to. I need to build headers for the doors. For wiggle room at the top of the door and the top of the trimmer the bottom of the header needs to be 82 5 8 in. So your jack stud should be cut at 81 for a 6 8 tall door.

This with all the photos has helped me to understand. You need to keep in mind that structural support is very important and the framed wall you are working with needs to be durable. Wide window and door openings and in most situations be code compliant for openings up to 6 ft. The opening are higher than the doors.

For the jamb 3 4 in. The size of the door headers you want to make will determine the size and type of materials you will need. When in doubt build a double 2 12 header sandwich like we explain next. The header for a door is much like a bridge transferring the weight above it to the floor and foundation below.

The main structure of the door is a piece of plywood to achieve the thickness needed for the hangers we bought 1x3 lumber to make a frame. 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. For finish flooring 3 8 in. Wide a common patio door width.

If you are building a new bearing wall or cutting in a new doorway be sure to check your local building code span charts or consult an engineer to properly size the header. We started by picking everbilt sliding door hardware available at home depot. We read the instructions and sketched a simple plan of what we wanted the door to look like.