Sliding Door In Load Bearing Wall

This happens on bearing walls.

Sliding door in load bearing wall.

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. The header is usually made out of dimensional lumber installed on its edge. Inserting a door or window in a load bearing wall can be a tricky situation but not an impossible one. It s not in a normal door if it s a two foot door it s going to be a 26 28 inch header.

Creating the opening for the new header may require temporary ceiling support while the header. If the wall is load bearing you will have to construct a temporary wall to support weight before you can install the header. That s why the header has to be twice as big. I needed a space to park my john deere zero turn mower.

Non load bearing windows and doors do not require a structural header. The header for a door is much like a bridge transferring the weight above it to the floor and foundation below. 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. 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.

It was a load bearing wall requiring. Installing a pocket door in a load bearing wall requires replacing the old header with a longer one. However if you know where to cut into the wall the project is quite straightforward. The first thing to understand is there could be a concentrated load above a door.

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. So i removed this door video below and expanded this doorway.