Contractor help re: Door Frames

[GoatGoat]

O brother, there all crazy,,,,,2x4 wall, sometimes you get a little flex, no big deal, some of the exterior sheathing may not have been nailed off PER CODE, that would cause a little flex,.....Not a shear wall...

Makes sense, I would think if you slam any door hard enough it would shake the wall. The confusing thing is that the contractor (or agent) is claiming two things which are a red flag to me. He is saying that the frame was not installed correctly originally (out of one side of his mouth) and also that it should have been reinforced when the french doors were installed (out of the other side of his mouth). Also, I can find the studs myself, and I am a moron.

 

[MicroBrew]

No, not at all. It's the top that shakes, if anything. I say "if anything" because I don't believe it shakes anymore than the door to my garage for example. If you slam a door, the wall is gonna shake. I think what originally drew the inspector to it was a metallic piece of art that I had hangling above the door. I didn't put it in studs because it was so light so it shook. The guy that did the door is very solid as he's done a ton of work for me on other houses with zero issues. Unfortunately, I know he's on his honeymoon for the next week so can't get in touch with him to answer.

Thanks for the insight!

If you feel the buyer is being led and you really need to sell the house, then only choice is the obvious, i.e. remove the drywall where the header is and where it meets the studs, to check for loose joints.

Another thing, maybee there aren't enough cripple studs ; which may not have been an issue with a sliding door but could be an issue with a swing door. Simple to just add more cripple studs.

 

[boss429]

A couple of years ago, I replaced a sliding glass door with french doors. I hired a contractor who I respect and did a good job I believe. He pulled out the sliding glass doors and plugged in the french doors (I'm simplifying it, of course) making no additional changes other than to the area immediately around the door.

We are now in the process of selling our home. When the inspector came out for our potential buyers, he put an ambigious note on the report of "wall shakes when back french doors are closed". This led to the buyers wanting to send a contractor to look at the wall (understandably they were concerned) because I said I was not going to pay for the wall to be fixed or even looked at.

The contractor came out, opened and shut the door several times, moved his stud finder around a little, and then asked me what the issue was. I told him all I knew was what was in the report, that the inspector stated the wall shakes. He did more of what he did previously, again asked what the deal was, and then left when it was clear he couldn't find any issue.

He came back a little later when I was not home. My agent was there as we agreed that the buyers could look at the home that day. This was after speaking with the buyer's agent. The second time, he said he found a problem. He said he couldn't find any studs supporting the door, and that because we switched door types, the wall doesn't support the to and fro motion of the door since it was built to support a side to side motion of the sliding glass door.

I think he is full of it. I can find the header above the door frame, approximately 10-12 inches. I know enough to know that this is the board (3 x 8? or something) that runs from side to side a full foot above the frame. Additionally, I am able to find the studs that run from the header up to the ceiling, spaced 16 inches apart across the entire header and width of the door frame. The outside of the frame appears to be appropriate as well (not sure of the terminology, but the cripples? etc)

I'm certainly not an expert, but believe a couple of things and was hoping someone with knowledge would correct me if I am wrong.

First, door frames are built to code, not to fit specific door types. For example, you would not build a door frame into a wall, header, etc one way for a sliding glass door vs a french door.

Second, if a door frame that is downstairs on a two story home were built incorrectly originally by the home builder (as he is saying out of one side of his mouth) it would show it after 9 years since slamming of a door doesn't come close to comparing to the thousands of pounds of weight on a load bearing wall so door type wouldn't mean anything.

Third, when replacing a sliding glass door with a french door, you do not have to break into the wall/frame and reinforce them. (This is what he is saying out of the other side of his mouth).

I greatly appreciate any insight!!!

Whats the measurement between the ceiling and the top of the door? I ask this because you said there where studs on 16" centers all the way across the header, typically when framing a 6' or bigger door especially an exterior door you'll have 2 king studs and 2 cripples on each side of the door, you make the cripples at a length that is 9 and a quarter inchs below the top plate so that your header is actually nailed into the top of the wall.

After that you bring the height down from the top of the header to the door height, if you do the opposite which is what you seem to describe then it makes for a weaker door, the wall is still fine but the door is a bit more rattly.

If the door is right in the corner then the corner side should be supported in a beam pocket in the other wall if there is no room for a king and 2 cripple studs.

I hope this makes sense, kind fucked up right now.

 

[GoatGoat]

If you feel the buyer is being led and you really need to sell the house, then only choice is the obvious, i.e. remove the drywall where the header is and where it meets the studs, to check for loose joints.

Another thing, maybee there aren't enough cripple studs ; which may not have been an issue with a sliding door but could be an issue with a swing door. Simple to just add more cripple studs.

Makes sense. I can float it for a while, actually a long time if I need to, just don't want to have to move the money around to make it work unless I really need to. The buyers are first time home buyers so are a little clueless as well. This is one of many nitpicky things that I don't think I would have to deal with if they were more experienced. I just want to resolve it soon and get it back on the market, if that is the route I have to go.

 

[GoatGoat]

Whats the measurement between the ceiling and the top of the door? I ask this because you said there where studs on 16" centers all the way across the header, typically when framing a 6' or bigger door especially an exterior door you'll have 2 king studs and 2 cripples on each side of the door, you make the cripples at a length that is 9 and a quarter inchs below the top plate so that your header is actually nailed into the top of the wall.

After that you bring the height down from the top of the header to the door height, if you do the opposite which is what you seem to describe then it makes for a weaker door, the wall is still fine but the door is a bit more rattly.

If the door is right in the corner then the corner side should be supported in a beam pocket in the other wall if there is no room for a king and 2 cripple studs.

I hope this makes sense, kind fucked up right now.

It does make sense. It is approximately 2.5 feet from the top of the frame to the ceiling. The cripples, I believe, do go from floor to ceiling. I am not sure if the header goes all the way across that part of the wall though but there is about 18 inches on either side of the door to the corner, so it isn't like it is a long wall.

 

[boss429]

It does make sense. It is approximately 2.5 feet from the top of the frame to the ceiling. The cripples, I believe, do go from floor to ceiling. I am not sure if the header goes all the way across that part of the wall though but there is about 18 inches on either side of the door to the corner, so it isn't like it is a long wall.

Can you post a picture, what im trying to figure out is weather the header is above or below the jack studs, what is your ceiling height?

 

[GoatGoat]

Can you post a picture, what im trying to figure out is weather the header is above or below the jack studs, what is your ceiling height?

I just sent you a PM