Double Door To Single Door

[dave_ramkumar]

Currently have a double door garage with a center column, i think its around 20ft wide , is it possible to remove the center column and have 1 door?

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, probably, but you will have to replace the header above with a properly sized header/ beam.
do able but a job.

 

[Zeke]

Typical span is 16 feet clear. On a single story that requires a 4 x 12 or 14. 20 feet clear will need an engineered beam and a lot of guys or a forklift.

 

[Chris705]

Is the wall with the doors on it a gable end wall or a bearing wall with trusses or rafters coming down on it? Where are you located and can you post an exterior and a couple interior photos of the current header and stud supports?

 

[kbs2244]

A door opening is generally framed with a header (the heavy beam above the opening) no longer than necessary. So, if you have 10 or 12 foot wide doors, you probably have two headers about 12 or 14 feet long with their center ends supported by the center column.

As zeke said, most single, double car, doors are 16 feet left to right. And will need at least an 18 foot header spanning the entire opening. You will end up with one 16 foot wide opening.

Chris705 is worried about a load bearing wall and the stronger framing needed if it is a wall supporting the roof. Gabel end walls are not load bearing, so the temp bracing used while doing the work is not as critical.

Can it be done? If you stay with the normal 16 foot wide door, yes, any good framing carpenter can handle it. Anything wider than that will be much more of a project.

 

[fatboy621]

I did this a long time ago. Due to the design of the house the post in the middle of the doors was load bearing. I went the the lumber yard and told them what I had and wanted to know what size header I needed.. They made a call and an engineer came out and sized it for free.. My dad and I did it our selves. Built a temp wall and cut out the old and installed the new. An extra set of hands would have helped but we managed. The engineer guaranteed it wouldn't sag. Been fifteen years and still straight as an arrow.

 

[engineer031]

The wall will need to be supported before you take the framing out, You should have an engineer size the beam you would need for it to be sure and not have it sag later on. Myself I would prefer the 2 doors over having 1 big one but if you need it wider then it is possible

 

[rkstr]

Changed my two 8', removed the post, installed a beam, and had 16' door installed. Prior to the change I had to fold in the mirrors on my truck. Also makes it easier to pull a car into the center and work on it.

 

[MikeF]

We did one on a commercial building. Went from 14 feet to 20. The beam was huge. Took the better part of the day but it was 16' up as well. Anything is doable if engineered properly