# Rough opening for new French doors



## Minich (Jul 14, 2011)

I'm not licensed in construction, but I'm 99.9% sure that what you just suggested is a very bad idea. A 1x anything, alone, has no business being used for support of anything, let alone a header.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

Whats the RO? Whats the size of the new door?


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## MAS (May 3, 2009)

The RO needs to be 63 1/4" and I only have about 62 7/8". I realize swapping out a 2X4 for a 1x might be a bad idea, but I really don't want to mess around with the opening too much. If I can't do it, I'll just opt for a door the next size down which only requires a 59 1/2" RO.

Thanks!


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

I would say a lot depends on if this is a load bearing wall or not. If not then I don't see a problem.


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

Joed makes a very good point. I put in a Marvin french door this year (not the integrity, rather a custom order, but very similar product). The header was about 7 feet, and I opted for a steel beam rather than an engineered lumber header due to headroom issues. I supported the steel beam on a double 2x4, which in turn was nailed into a full length king stud, so this was effectively a 4-1/2 inch wide column, one king and two jack studs. This was for a load bearing exterior wall.

Now code varies from place to place regarding how many jack studs you need to support the header, but that is likely to be the driver, not the required frame support for the door. So you really need to determine if you need a single jack stud or a double jack stud to support the header. Your building inspector will likely be able to help out.


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## coupe (Nov 25, 2011)

did you actually measure the door itself? most times the dimensions they give you allows for shimming the opening you have may work? less shims.


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## titanoman (Nov 27, 2011)

Daniel Holzman said:


> Joed makes a very good point. I put in a Marvin french door this year (not the integrity, rather a custom order, but very similar product). The header was about 7 feet, and I opted for a steel beam rather than an engineered lumber header due to headroom issues. I supported the steel beam on a double 2x4, which in turn was nailed into a full length king stud, so this was effectively a 4-1/2 inch wide column, one king and two jack studs. This was for a load bearing exterior wall.
> 
> Now code varies from place to place regarding how many jack studs you need to support the header, but that is likely to be the driver, not the required frame support for the door. So you really need to determine if you need a single jack stud or a double jack stud to support the header. Your building inspector will likely be able to help out.


Where I bent my nails, code for exterior walls was 2 "trimmers"(3" full bearing next to the king (not broken on the sill, to the header) ( can you say whaler?), for anything over 6'.
Use 5/4 decking for the trimmers next to the outer trimmers; you'll be 
gaining 3/4".
Sandwich the 5/4" between the 2x's, next to the king and under the header.


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## MAS (May 3, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions.

Titanomen - A trimmer is a jack stud, right? Like your idea of using a 5/4 decking board, but I think I'll only need to replace one 2x4 to get the additional room I need.

Coupe - the actual width of the door is 63", but I need 63 1/4" to allow for adjustments to level and plumb the door. 

Some additional information: The door is on an exterior wall with the ceiling joists above running parallel. Also, there is an open, shed roofed porch right outside the door. I'll try to post some interior and exterior pictures to provide some clarity. Thanks again everyone.


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## MAS (May 3, 2009)

Here are the pictures...


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