my husband wants to put in a french doors...help?

Question

my husband wants to put in a french doors...help!! he want to know if the wall will fall when he cuts open the outside wall to fit a 6 foot door!!! he knows to put in a header after though...why do men think they can be carpenters??

Answer 1

Good he knows about the header. If the opening is on the gable end, the end of the house with the peak, he might be able to cut the opening with out too much trouble. If it's not he will have to build a temporary support wall. This wall would be removed after the header is in. Things that will affect header size. You may need a bigger header i.e. a 2x10 vs. a 2x8 if the it's a 2 story home, check with your lumber yard, or big box store. Home depot may have info. Good luck.

Answer 2

You don't put French Doors in Outside Walls, you can install a double door, with divided Light panels , but are fake to look divided. Shore up the Ceiling before making any cuts, and be prepared to find Electrical Wire, which will have to be rerouted. This is really a job over the head of an inexperienced person.

Answer 3

Temp wall is advisable on load bearing wall. Although a header after is not. Header should go in before door. What do you have on the roof? If just regular shingle roof, I would`nt worry to much about temp wall if single story. Also don`t just go cutting through the wall, don`t forget you may have utilities in the wall you may want to use later like electricity!

Answer 4

So long as he isn't cutting through any 4x4s or larger pieces of wood, he should be all right. French doors are pretty large items though, so he'll probably need an inspector to approve this project.

Why french doors though? They're so easy to break into. He should really have a sturdy 4x4, or a 4x6 between the two double doors when he's done, both for support, and so he can lock them properly.

Answer 5

It will be nice to use when you have french toast.