Hi all,
This is my first post in this forum. I've been planning to finish my basement and have been reading this forum for the last 2-3 months. And I have to say it's been a BIG source of information and learning for me.
Now that I've actually started the work, I have a question:
(sorry, no pictures nor drawing... I hope my description is clear enough)
I am in the process of framing a storage area. One of the wall runs about 8ft. It crosses perpendicularly a couple of hvac ducts next to each other, with a combined width of about 4ft. Now, since I want to maximize the headroom I want to frame my wall all the way up the the ducts and box the ducts around the wall (instead of boxing the ducts and then frame my wall onto the box).
So, my wall framing will be attached to the ceiling joist on either side of the ducts. However, under the ducts, it will be freestanding. Just a lonely header/top-plate. By itself, that should not be an issue. But... I need to put a door right under that duct and beam!
Would a 4ft span of freestanding header (although nailed on either side to studs which are nailed to the joists/floor) be solid enough to hold a hinged door? How do I solidify the door header (if needed)? I was thinking of laminating a hard metal strip to the header so it won't flex. Should I sacrifice headroom and box in the duct first so I can solidly attach the door frame into?
Thanks all.
This is my first post in this forum. I've been planning to finish my basement and have been reading this forum for the last 2-3 months. And I have to say it's been a BIG source of information and learning for me.
Now that I've actually started the work, I have a question:
(sorry, no pictures nor drawing... I hope my description is clear enough)
I am in the process of framing a storage area. One of the wall runs about 8ft. It crosses perpendicularly a couple of hvac ducts next to each other, with a combined width of about 4ft. Now, since I want to maximize the headroom I want to frame my wall all the way up the the ducts and box the ducts around the wall (instead of boxing the ducts and then frame my wall onto the box).
So, my wall framing will be attached to the ceiling joist on either side of the ducts. However, under the ducts, it will be freestanding. Just a lonely header/top-plate. By itself, that should not be an issue. But... I need to put a door right under that duct and beam!
Would a 4ft span of freestanding header (although nailed on either side to studs which are nailed to the joists/floor) be solid enough to hold a hinged door? How do I solidify the door header (if needed)? I was thinking of laminating a hard metal strip to the header so it won't flex. Should I sacrifice headroom and box in the duct first so I can solidly attach the door frame into?
Thanks all.