Question for Building Contractors

[rladner]

First, this is not a picture of my house and I realize it might require specific measurements for a correct response.... But... I'm going to ask anyways and see if it is even possible. Using the picture below, if I wanted to remove the center brick between the two garage doors and just put in a single garage door, is that "generally" structurally possible?

I ask because we have always parked in the garage, but recently bought a house like this. My wife has an Armada and it is a tight fit getting it through the garage door. She has been parking in the drive because it makes her nervous. So, is it even possible that I can have it removed and just made into a single garage door?


Thanks for the input.

[Dale Moser]

There are most likely 2 seperate headers, 1 for each door. I'm guessing those will have to be removed and replaced with a lam beam. Also there are two pieces of large angle iron bolted to those headers that support the brick above, which opens a whole other can of worms.

It's probably possible, it's definitely expensive.

[Death from Above]

Yes it can be done. Have a structural engineer correctly size you a LVL or GLB (depending on load).

Then the work begins...pic above has room due to room. You will not be able to rafter cut a beam and it carry the load above.

An engineer is of most importance because of multiple factors...such as,

brick load and is it attached, room for beam and guideline for install, roof load and depending on how the load is transferred to header...

again see and engineer.

If you will post pics of actual home with some measurements and a pic of the roof rafter framing I can get you real close but will accept no liability...can stamp it for a price

[Flint knapper]

Why don't you just have a metal carport built to protect the cars from the weather.
A lot cheaper and not have to mess with the house.

[GadgetFreek]

It is 100% possible. I am not a building contractor but had it done in our garage immediately after construction was completed. We realized quickly my wife's Expedition would not fit without scraping the mirrors.

Sales lady told us a big door was not an option with the 3-car garage. Come to find out she was wrong and the builder footed the bill for the change. I know they had to remove the 2 individual headers and replace it with a single header along with all the trim, etc.

This was originally 3 individual doors.


This is the only evidence there was ever a column there. Just a small concrete patch.

[RR 314]

It is 100% possible. I am not a building contractor but had it done in our garage immediately after construction was completed. We realized quickly my wife's Expedition would not fit without scraping the mirrors.

Sales lady told us a big door was not an option with the 3-car garage. Come to find out she was wrong and the builder footed the bill for the change. I know they had to remove the 2 individual headers and replace it with a single header along with all the trim, etc.

This was originally 3 individual doors.


This is the only evidence there was ever a column there. Just a small concrete patch.

It also appears from the fascia that there is a slight sag. Well, at least that is what my eyes tell me. As mentioned, it can be done but must be done properly or it will cause problems down the line.

[Kcwwcb]

What Dale said. I would also add that depending on if there is a room above like the picture shows, how the floor trusses/ joists attach or bear on the headers now. The larger header/ beam will most likely be taller. I see this getting potentially very messy. Like stated above, get a structural engineer involved. You may have to open the ceiling in the garage to see exactly how it is currently put together. Good luck.

[rladner]

Thanks. There is a room directly above the garage. Sounds like it is possible, but not likely to be something I want to do given the complexity and potential price tag. Guess I'm turning the garage into a work area. I just hate not parking the cars in the garage. Bad things happen to cars not parked in garages. Broken windows, wheels stolen, weather damage, the car itself stolen, broken into, etc...

[Dale Moser]

Thanks. There is a room directly above the garage. Sounds like it is possible, but not likely to be something I want to do given the complexity and potential price tag. Guess I'm turning the garage into a work area. I just hate not parking the cars in the garage. Bad things happen to cars not parked in garages. Broken windows, wheels stolen, weather damage, the car itself stolen, broken into, etc...

It's more likely the floor joists run parallel to those headers rather than rest on them. But it's likely to be a large undertaking either way. You want someone who knows their stuff doing such a thing, and like I said...it won't be cheap.

[Tony Pic]

Look into a piece of steel( I beam or angle iron) also to act as a Lentil(sp?) to replace that load bearing beam between the garages. The steel might be less expensive than a wood micro lam. Anything can be done with time and money.

[Royal]

GD conversion

Mr Moser is correct in all accounts.

There are most likely 2 seperate headers, 1 for each door. I'm guessing those will have to be removed and replaced with a lam beam. Also there are two pieces of large angle iron bolted to those headers that support the brick above, which opens a whole other can of worms.

It's probably possible, it's definitely expensive.

[Sticks&Strings]

My set up is exactly the same. I'm a builder, but we bought a home...I had fought the fight long enough and the bride wanted to be in a specific neighborhood. Dale is correct, and you are correct in that it is simply for storage and not vehicles. In fact, I built a bunch of fixed cabinets in mine. It's a big job to make it one big door. And not worth the money or hassle.

[Bill]

You need a structural engineer to do the calculation of what type of beam can structurally support the load across that longer span. There's different options, my brother did it in his house removing a load bearing wall to turn 2 rooms into one and used a steel I beam since there was not a lot of room in the ceiling.

[dustoffer]

There are most likely 2 seperate headers, 1 for each door. I'm guessing those will have to be removed and replaced with a lam beam. Also there are two pieces of large angle iron bolted to those headers that support the brick above, which opens a whole other can of worms.

It's probably possible, it's definitely expensive.

Lam beam is how my buddy handled the same issue--