Triple 2x6 Header Allowed Or 4 Ply?

woodworkbykirk

two days ago the windows showed up on a house im finishing the back framing on as well as siding and trimming. anyhow there was one window which didnt match any openings, gc tells me its going in the basement, problem is the window is 38" tall, and the knee wall is only 46"l from the mudsil up to the top plate, installing 2ply 2ply header doesnt leave enough space, problem is the joists are sitting on this wall, if they werent i would simply double up the rim and ad some cripples, so my question is would an inspector pass a 3 ply or 4 ply 2x6 header on a 30" wide ro, closest point load is 10 ft away, only has to support one floor and the roof which is 12/12 for this section of the roof

KentWhitten

sounds fairly safe enough even though I don't like answering structural questions. 30" isn't that big.

Now....your inspector might have a different answer. Sometimes...if you call the inspector up and tell him what the story is and what you'd like to do, he may just be fine with it. If you just put it in hoping he doesn't say anything, it may be a roll of the dice.

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woodworkbykirk

im gonna look it up in the good book, or i mean the pain in the ass book, i find the headers charts tricky to decipher, otherwise im gonna flag down an inspector tommorrow, 5 other houses going up right now so i imagine ill see one driving by, i dont have any phone numbers for them so...


anyhow, might go 4 ply even, just have to cut out a section of sheathing to keep it flush on the inside to allow for drywall

neolitic

What are the chances of getting
a flush header in there, and hanging
the joist?

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woodworkbykirk

thought of that, trying to do things the fastest way possible and that wont require getting more material, i have a pile of 2x6 still laying around and only 3 pieces of 2x10 ones 33" the other 2 are less than a foot, the truss supplier sent us roughly 20 extra hangers as well of various purposes

Joe Carola

That gives you 8" - 3" for the two top plates leaving you with 5" left over. Since you said you want to use a triple 2x6 for a header, obviously you have a 2x6 wall. I would say that a triple 2x6 would be alright for a 30" opening, but all you have to do is make a simple phone call to the Architect and just ask him if it's alright.

If not, ask him if a 2x8 header with 1/2" plywood in between is alright and just cut out the top plates since you have 8", you don't need the top plates. This is done all the time.

Why is that a problem? You cut the joist back another 1-1/2" and double up the rim joist and it becomes a flush header and you put joist hangers on the joists. This is done all the time also.

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gregj

Can you use IRC? TableR502.5(1) says a double 2x6 will work for a 3' wide opening in a 36' wide building for supporting a roof, ceiling, and one clear span floor provided you have 50psf snow load or less.

woodworkbykirk

right on, might consider doing the triple 2 x8 and remove top plates, only thing is the window will look really stupid being higher than the other 2 on that wall....

gotta get the verdict from the gc still on it so..

Joe Carola

Why can't you just call the Architect and ask him if you can get away with 3-2x6's w/plywood in between??

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woodworkbykirk

in regards to calling the architect, dont have the contact info, the gc does, and i call him twice a day for answers on things, but hes the invisible man

Joe Carola

Architects name and phone number isn't on the plans? Never seen a plan without that before.

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