Putting in header in wall!

federer · 10-02-2012, 03:22 AM

Hi everyone
been reading throughout here and see that a lot of people have the same project, but everyone's case is unique so here is mine. Appreciate any insight/suggestions you all have.

so basically we want to put in a 4ft opening in a wall upstairs, 2nd floor. the wall seperates 2 bedrooms. the unique thing is that the 2nd floor is actually the attic itself, and so the roof is essentially tied into the wall, so to speak.

so our idea is to cut out 2 rafters, and install about a 40 inch opening with 2x10 headers. whats the best way to do this?

for your convenience i have a video to make it easier to see.

thanks!

federer · 10-02-2012, 03:23 AM

to make it easy i took a video so you all can see what's going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQuXztSJT7M

**oh'mike** · 10-02-2012, 04:55 AM

Bad video link----It says 'private, please log in to view'

federer · 10-02-2012, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oh'mike

Bad video link----It says 'private, please log in to view'

mike! thanks for dropping by. sorry about that let me fix that

here we go: its about 1:30min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQuXztSJT7M

notmrjohn · 10-02-2012, 02:38 PM

I watched the video, I still don't know where "opening" is to be. Or what you mean by " 4ft opening." A door way? What size are studs in wall you are cutting into? How tall is wall? Or is opening going to be in roof? I don't understand need to "cut out 2 rafters." But, then, i don't understand lots of stuff.

federer · 10-02-2012, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notmrjohn

I watched the video, I still don't know where "opening" is to be. Or what you mean by " 4ft opening." A door way? What size are studs in wall you are cutting into? How tall is wall? Or is opening going to be in roof? I don't understand need to "cut out 2 rafters." But, then, i don't understand lots of stuff.

thanks for taking a look. so the video shows the wall with drywall off. we want to put the opening in that wall about 40inches wide, much like a door way, but minus a actual door. the studs are normal 2x4 16 on center. so the plan is to cut out about 2to3 studs out, put in header above that but below the top plate where the roof meets the ceiling. hope this helps

notmrjohn · 10-02-2012, 04:37 PM

Oh Ok. So you're not cutting any rafters. Pretty straight forward job. Is there a double top plat on top the studs? The rafters look almost over studs. What is directly below where opening will be? Weight of roof and rafter thrust is going to be transferred to there. Be nice if that wall is directly over another wall, or a couple of perpindicular walls. If opening in wall underneath, you'll have to beef that up.

I would build paralell temporary "wall frame" one rafter longer each end than opening to support rafters while you take out studs. Maybe two, one on each side of wall. Your going to use two 2X10s sistered with 1/2' ply between as solid header, no cripples above? Is there room for 2X12? Stronger , and brings top of opening, in 8' wall, down closer to standard door height.

Cut the studs you're removing close to one end, they may be reusable as jack studs. Frame as any opening, king studs between top and bottom plates each end of header. header in between under top plates. I'd use two jack studs on each side between header and bottom plate since opening is 4' wide. Cut out bottom plate between jacks. Metal rafter ties over opening. Remove temp frames. Voila! French for "the house is falling, 'cause there's no first floor support."

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:12 PM

just took out some of the paneling to show where opening is planned.

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:13 PM

this pic shows the 2 studs that we want to take out; where header will be installed. the top plate is actually 3 plates total

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:16 PM

more straight on:

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:19 PM

different angle:

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:30 PM

up close from the side. the foremost 2 in the pic are the ones to be taken out

mae-ling · 10-02-2012, 05:32 PM

Those rafters just hang below that triple top plate on the wall?
What supports them? Those studs really don't look like they do. But looking at the video it looks like nothing else does!

Looks like header would have to go on the room side of the wall and be supported down to the bottom plate. Kinda have pillars inside the room, use 2x8 or 2x10 studs (whatever width you need) flush on the one side and under the header on the other side.

federer · 10-02-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mae-ling

Those rafters just hang below that triple top plate on the wall?
What supports them? Those studs really don't look like they do. But looking at the video it looks like nothing else does!

Looks like header would have to go on the room side of the wall and be supported down to the bottom plate. Kinda have pillars inside the room, use 2x8 or 2x10 studs (whatever width you need) flush on the one side and under the header on the other side.

thanks for coming back to look.
yea thats the question: the 2 rafters run down to the studs, and thats it! it's not even sitting on the studs, just sistered to the stud with screws.

can you explain what you mean by supported down to bottom plate? oh nevermind i get it. why flush on one side and under header on the other side?

notmrjohn · 10-02-2012, 06:01 PM

Whoa! That is nothing at all like i expected.

What is holding up roof?

From the other side in video it sure looked like they were on the top cap of wall.

Did somebody cut them off to put in that wall? Is the knotty pine room an addition?

Was there an opening there B4? 1st pic looks like double studs on each side.

In a normal situation I might would be happy about cutting out two rafters and framing it like it was a hatch opening. But this is not normal. Which means i should feel right at home, but this is worrisome.