Patio Door or Regular Door

[Korndogg]

I have never installed a door from scratch before. There has always already been a hole there when I have done it. Anyone here know how to put one in from scratch and wouldn't mind coming over and looking at it first so I know what size door I need to get. I'm really not sure if I have enough headroom to put in header big enough for a patio door and I really can't afford a custom patio door to make it work either. If I can't put in a patio door, I am just going to put in a regular door because there is already a window there and the width is about the same size as a door anyway. Either way, I would like some help. I thought about just having a company do it but I'm sure they would charge a shit ton to do it most likely.


Here is a pic of where I want it to go.



and a pic form the outside

[Ricky Bobby]

grab a sawzall and cut that shit out to rough size and whatever dont fit just great stuff and bigger moldings lol. If u want call my buddy jeff 414-416-1055 he can prob give u a estimate that will beat a lot of others and hes good too

[Korndogg]

It's the height I'm worried about and I just don't know enough about installing doors to look at it and see what I need.

[wrath]

Some goof hillbilly expanded out. Looks like Menomonee Falls style. You already have a header in the soffit/bulkhead.

[Korndogg]

Yeah but for a 6' patio door I believe you need a 8" header and that's not what is in there. I think a 5' door may be a 6" header?

[CATNHAT]

Yeah but for a 6' patio door I believe you need a 8" header and that's not what is in there. I think a 5' door may be a 6" header?

Pulling a permit?

6-0 6-8 PD prolly has a RO of 6-10. What height from finish floor to bottom of existing header? A 6" LVL or Microlam will work as a new header, very little load there. You may have to install a flush header not knowing what your existing conditions are. Biggest concern is water infiltration so drip edge and protecto wrap are your best friends there. Some MFg's recomend back caulking the naiing fin and the J. Check their specs and follow for warranty. Some framers still believe your need to flash the sill with a pan, I dont think its necessary but PL the shit out of it.

Every patio door will provide you with RO. Make your fenestration that size and your all set.

Avoid ANY and ALL weathershield products--THEY ARE FUCKING SHIT!

[Korndogg]

Well the height from floor to the top of that window is 78 1/2" and from floor to the bottom of the soffit is 84". Excuse my lack of knowledge, I'm a steamfitter not a carpenter lol.

[CATNHAT]

sounds like your header is at the correct elevation it just need to be widened to accomodate the new wider door. An LVL or Microlam is a type of engineered lumber that is stronger then regular 2X material. A doubled up 2X8 would be sufficient.

Its a pretty easydeal and being a steamfitter your handy with tools, youll be fine.

Looks like a patio door and a nice deck would be good there. I would make the left hand side the operable panel for ingress and egress.

my .02

Are you pulling a permit?

[Korndogg]

Ok thanks.




And I already pulled a permit........






......for the fence I'm putting in....

[CATNHAT]

Ok thanks.




And I already pulled a permit........






......for the fence I'm putting in....

Nice!

Btw. You have hvac and electrical needs for this project as well. You can easily relocate both. Hvac to floor discharge and move outlet to the left of proposed door. Im sure you are aware of these already.

And you you need a friend at the local liquor store.

[Korndogg]

Yeah I'm putting the HVAC in the floor which is easy. My dad does HVAC so he has anything I need for that. And the outlet, I'm just going to remove.


and I have a liquor store 2 blocks from my house. lol

[wrath]

There is a header in that bulkhead/soffit in the room from when they expanded the room out under the eaves. The amount of weight that needs to be supported is minimal because of this. Since this is an after-the-fact deed we already know that the room is probably poorly cantilevered and the tails of the rafters (doesn't look enough rise for the run for trusses) are being pulled down by the extension of the room.

You are probably going to find some surprises when you open it up. You will more than likely find a tripled 2x12 for a header. The band board was probably not removed so sister joists could be slid in to continue the floor as that is a lot of work.

A pair of 2x6s is more than sufficient for the span on what you would consider an "interior" non load-bearing wall.

If you don't have room a 2x4 piece of oak is roughly 3 times stronger than worse-than-#2 pine.

[CATNHAT]

This is what the framing wil look like. That would be a nice addition.

[Korndogg]

Well upon further inspection, it looks like there is a 4x8 above the window from what I can tell. It is just the header for the window. But at least I know I can fit an 8" header in there. However, floor to bottom of the header is only 81 1/2".

Also, Is there a certain brand I should look for that wont break the bank?

[wrath]

What is in the soffit/bulkhead in the room? That is the part that matters. There should be no load bearing on the outside wall because it's cantilevered.

You do not need a header in a non-load bearing wall, just something to hold the drywall. #1 2x4s would be sufficient.

[Korndogg]

I took this picture a while ago which isn't very good but it shows what it in the soffit.



and I took this one today. You can see the header behind the 2x4 for the soffit.



The rest of the wall looks like it just has one 2x4 on top with the studs coming down from it. (from what I can see right now)