Need Some Garage Door Advice

[buttplate]

Ok, here we go.

When my builder built my house 18 years ago he framed and installed 8' wide garage doors. As you can imagine, EVERY time we pull a vehicle in the garage we pucker up until the mirrors clear. I have had the thought to widen them many times but that is as far as I have gotten, the thought.

My home is a story and a half with a bonus room over the garage. Does anyone have any experience with a garage door widening project or any ideas who to contact?

 

[jeep78]

Ok, here we go.

When my builder built my house 18 years ago he framed and installed 8' wide garage doors. As you can imagine, EVERY time we pull a vehicle in the garage we pucker up until the mirrors clear. I have had the thought to widen them many times but that is as far as I have gotten, the thought.

My home is a story and a half with a bonus room over the garage. Does anyone have any experience with a garage door widening project or any ideas who to contact?

Do you have a full length beam/header over the openings? Or are they built around the 8' doors?

 

[Just1more]

What jeep78 said^^^ if they built the headers over your doors separate like this, you would have to rip the entire wall out and put a longer beam above the doors

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

These guys are right, that header is load bearing. Either it is 8 feet wide and the framing sits at the ends in which case it's a big project, OR, the header is actually longer and they just framed for a smaller door for whatever reasons. If the latter that door framing isn't load bearing and can be moved out to accommodate a larger door. You should really get a good contractor out there to advise you of options.

 

[1EDsson]

^^^Yup, may be easier to get a Prius.
It could be done, but to do it right, and show the building inspector it's done right, it would likely be a re build, not a quick little remodel.

 

[DADI03]

Per code now you are supposed to use one header all the way across, due to the fact that if you ever hit the center pillar you'll lose all of the load bearing on that half of the house. It wouldn't be a horrible job to do. You'll need to build a temporary wall across the opening then tear everything out and build to suit. The biggest thing is making sure you have the head room for a big enough header to span that far. You might have to go to steel.

 

[jeep78]

Also, if you try to go full length opening, you lose the shear panel, and the building can become unstable and sway/rack from movement.

If this is the case, get someone who can properly design and engineer the opening, not the cheapest wood nailer you can find.

 

[buttplate]

All very good points of which I have considered many. That is why it still has not been tackled. I am looking for some construction photos but I am betting each of the 3 doors has it's own header.

I want an experienced contractor with INSURANCE to tackle the job.

 

[Camper292000]

Another option is that you could drive into one of the center pillars about 10 miles an hour. During all the repairs.... redo it right!

Just kidding of course.

Sent from my LM-V350 using Tapatalk

 

[harrycalahan]

All very good points of which I have considered many. That is why it still has not been tackled. I am looking for some construction photos but I am betting each of the 3 doors has it's own header.

I want an experienced contractor with INSURANCE to tackle the job.

View attachment 2454705

Headers. There would have been no reason to use a 30’ beam. Tap on the drywall in between the doors at the elevation of the beams. If its hollow, you’ve got headers. The direction/loading of the 2nd floor beams will be another factor. If they’re parallel to the doors you’re fine. If they pocket into the partitions, thats a lot more weight to carry.

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