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In construction there are different areas that require differing sized headers.

1~ over openings in bearing walls

2~ over openings in non~bearing walls.

A bearing wall is one that supports the weight of the roof and any load which lies upon the roof such as snow. Usually the level part of the roof line is a bearing wall and the sloped part is not. In these applications a big header such as 2 x 12's are nailed together for support.

Non~ bearing walls are those that support virtually no weight and smaller lumber such as 2 x 4's or 2 x 6's nailed together can be used. These walls include most interior walls.

There are many variations of manufactured headers on the market that can be used. If you are looking at a blueprint it is best in each application to use what the architect is specifying. They have usually calculated the live load and dead load of each area that needs support.

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14y ago

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