Garage Door Wall Height

[300Deluxe]

Hello All,

I'm building a 12'x16' storage building that I'd like to install a 8'x7' garage door in (http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27668&showall=1). I'm ready to frame the walls and need to know the height of the walls.

I've been intending to build standard 8' walls, but when I laid the garage door wall out in my CAD software I found that I won't have sufficient room for a 12" header. I get 8 5/8" clearance for a header. Is this sufficient? Can I just buy a 2x10 board and rip it down? This will be on the front 12' wall of the building.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[nova65ss]

To install a door and opener ideally you would want 18" of headroom above the door. It can be done with as little as 8" but will require low headroom tracks.

 

[300Deluxe]

Hi Nova,

Sharp car!

The particular doors I'm looking at (Lowes) spec a minimum clearance of 12" from ceiling to door opening, which I can get with an 8' wall. I'm concerned as to whether or not a 2x10 ripped to an odd size will sufficiently support the load.

I'd like to avoid going with 9' walls if possible. The building is only 12' wide and I wouldn't want it to look too "top heavy".

 

[nova65ss]

Not sure that would likely be a question better suited for the engineer of your drawings. Me personally I would go with a 9' or 10' wall and not worry about what it looks like. I have 12' ceilings and as always you wish you would of went higher!!!!!

 

[kvom]

I believe it's not the 2x8 (or whatever) that would be the concern, but what it's attached to. On my doors there are 2x6s on either side up to the ceiling where the rails attach, and a 2x4 in the center where the spring mount attaches. Since I have a LVL beam over the door I have a good support structure.

 

[structures282]

Two 2X8s (with 1/2" thick plywood board sandwiched between) will span 8' easily and still give you clearance for a 7' door. I just built a 12' X 24' shed last summer with an 9' X 7' door and 8' side walls no probs. If interested here's a link to the build below:

http://web.me.com/rc.scott/Factotum/House/Pages/12_X_24_Shed.html

If you have any questions let me know.

Hope this helps.

 

[JCByrd24]

Another vote for a 2x8 header. For that size structure a 4x12 header would be seriously overkill, especially on a gable end (the end that looks like /\).