How to Frame Interior Door Headers
Interior doors are framed much like exterior doors. The difference is in the size of the lumber you use and placement. Interior doors can be placed anywhere within the structure, as exterior doors always are placed on a load-bearing wall. Some carpentry skills and terminology are required to frame interior door headers.
Things You'll Need
- 2x12 lumber
- 1/2-inch plywood
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Framing square
- Framing nails
- Miter saw
- Circular saw
- Pneumatic framing gun
- Measure the door frame. You must know the exact width and height of the door.
- Align the ends of the wall then stand the top and bottom plate on its narrow side.
- Mark the door location with a tape measure.
- Use your framing square, and mark a straight line across the top and bottom plate.
- Write "CL" next to this line so you will know it is the center line.
- Locate the rough opening for the door size. Use the framing square and mark your plates. This is normally two inches wider and taller than your door size.
- Place an "X" on the outside of each of these marks. This is the location of the header and cripple studs.
- Measure out another 1-1/2 inch from both sides of the marks you just made in step seven. This will mark the location of the king studs.
- Use the pneumatic framing gun and nail the the king studs in place with three inch nails. Use two nails to go through the top and bottom plate into the king studs.
- Use a miter or circular saw, and cut the cripple stud to the rough opening of your door height.
- Nail the cripple stud to the inside of the king stud along its length.
- Use two nails to anchor the bottom plate to the cripple stud.
- Measure the width between the two king studs.
- Cut the header, using 2x12-inch lumber, to the width you just measured in step 13.
- Cut the 1/2-inch plywood into a piece that will fit between the king studs tightly.
- Place the plywood between the king studs and make sure the drywall on each side is flush with the wall framing.
- Position the header so its resting on the cripple studs and against the king studs.
- Nailing through the king studs, secure the header in place.
- Nail scrap pieces of 2x4 lumber between the top of the header and the bottom of the top plate at 16-inch on center spacing.