How To Frame A Garage Door: Step By Step Instructions Of Framing A Garage Door

Step By Step Instructions Of Framing A Garage Door

If you are looking to frame a door, it is important to install a header, two rows of side jambs as well as framing to attach the track, and the spring’s center bracket. To frame a structural header for a garage door opening, then you can handle it on the place of work and will offer the same structural support like the more expensive solid wood beams. The process for constructing a header when it comes to 6-inch exterior wall framing can be modified for any wall thickness. Local as well as national building codes have clearly defined or identified structural requirements pertaining to beam sizes to span particular wall openings relative to the wall loads, therefore, it is important to consult your local building department before starting this project. Go through the below-mentioned steps carefully in order to get your rough opening ready for your brand new garage door:

Step 1: Gather Supplies

The things that you will need while framing a garage door include a tape measure, a pencil, a circular saw or band saw and some 2-by-6 inch lumber. PVC garage door jambs can also be used instead of lumber. You will need sufficient amount of lumber for double the length of your garage’s floor-to-ceiling height as well as double the height of each side of the rough opening. Lumber is also needed when it comes to lining the width of the header as well as the distance betwixt the header and the ceiling. Select a material to use for the jambs before measuring the size of your garage door’s finished opening. The majority of the frames are made of wood, but you can also select a PVC door jamb. The thickness of the material you use will ascertain or establish the size of the garage’s opening after you have installed the frames.

Step 2: Measure The Garage Door Rough Opening

Before you are going to add your framing, you need to know that the rough opening should be larger as compared to the garage door you have selected. The distance betwixt the garage floor and the rough header should be one and a half inches longer when compared to your new garage door’s height. For instance, in a standard seven-foot-tall garage door, the header should be 8 and a half inches above the finished floor. The header itself should be 9 inches wider than the door. The rough opening’s width should be 3 inches longer than the door, measured betwixt the left and right edges. Therefore, in a 12-foot wide garage door, the rough opening width will be 15 inches.

Step 3: Install The Head Jamb

Door jambs are the planks of wood on both the sides of the opening as well as the top header. Door installers occasionally refer to the two on either side as “side jambs,” and the one on top of the doorway as the “head jamb.” It is extremely important to install the head jamb first, in order to make sure that the side jambs can rest flush against it. Calculate or compute the header in order to fit the horizontal opening of the garage, which need to be the length of the garage door plus nine inches. As soon as you’ve cut your 2-by-6 inch lumber or PVC jamb to the correct height, secure or fix it to the header with the help of framing nails. The thickness of the header need to cover the difference betwixt the rough opening and the height of the garage door.

Step 4: Measure Your Floor-To-Ceiling Height

It is important to add 2 pieces of framing on the wall of the garage alongside the opening. These frames will secure or fix the garage door’s tracks to the wall. This frame is referred to as a “goal post” by your garage door installer. These jambs will be of the right shape and size for the height of your garage from the floor to the ceiling. As soon as you have measured the height, trim 2 pieces of lumber to this exact height.

Step 5: Attach Your Goal Post

With the help of framing nails, attach the 2 pieces of the goal post to the inner face of your garage wall. You will need to run up n opposition to the head jamb you installed during step 3.

Step 6: Install The Side Jambs

Trim 2 pieces of lumber or PVC door jambs to the new height of your opening. The side jambs will hit the underside of the jamb header you have already installed. These jambs should be of the exact height of your garage door minus 1/4 of an inch, in order to make sure that they don’t quite hit the ground. Secure or fix these door jambs with the help of framing nails. It is strongly recommended to use double side jambs to support this weight, so that you will need to install two trimmers each on the left as well as the right side. As soon as you have installed the side jambs, the door opening need to have the same dimensions as your new door.

Step 7: Attach The Center Bracket Framing

Calculate or compute the distance betwixt the top of the header you have installed to the ceiling. Trim a piece of lumber to this height and center it above the header. Your garage door installer will use this piece of framing to secure the center bracket of your garage door’s spring system.