how important are headers?

[xscorex]

ok so Im trying to finish the basement, stripped down the paneling off one wall and was going to put in a french door thing from the finished area into the area Im trying to re-finish. there is already a door there but to put in double doors Id have to widen it by about a foot. Anyway, I get to the studs and i see that the einstein that framed it didnt use a header. nothing. just 2x4s across the top. I mean its been this way for 30 years so i guess its ok. How do you tell if its a load bearing wall? I dont think that it is, but I could be wrong. I guess Im going to have to tear it all out & start over. the easy way would be to just cut some 2x4s for the door opening and double them up, and cut the hole a foot bigger.

 

[Jason641]

if it is running parallel with the floor joists above it is most likely not load bearing. if it is running perpendicular to the joists it may or may not be.

A lot of times, especially in older homes the basement would not have any walls at all when it was built, so there is most likely some other structure holding up the floor above. the walls were probably added sometime after the house was built therefore no need for a header or load bearing wall. Can you take a picture?

 

[hook982]

i've got kook's longtubes...

 

[xscorex]

its perpendicular to the floor joists. there is a brick wall that divides the basement up. The house is a split level. Im guessing the brick wall that runs through the middle is holding up the split level. So if its not a load bearing wall, dont sweat it if the header isnt there?

 

[atari]

BBK equal length shortys here!

 

[Jason641]

As long as it isn't load bearing you don't need a header. A 2x4 and maybe a couple cripple studs depending on the width of the doorway is all you need to hold up the sheetrock and top of the door frame.