Continuous Multiple Garage Door Header

[waytsh]

I have noticed that home builders in my area are using a continuous LVL header for the entire length of garage wall with multiple doors. Does anyone know if this is a code requirement? I understand the need to maintain a continuous load path from endwall to endwall so that all the portal frames around the doors can be engaged but is this the typical method to accomplish this? The methods I see in the AWC documents seem to show breaking the header.

 

[charliealphabravo]

For sure. I didn't mean to sound snarky or dismissive of an actual solution. Just that sometimes you gotta pull a Kirk v. Khan and go into the 3rd dimension to solve a problem. This reminded me of that gable endwall that came up a few days ago: more windows, more doors, bigger spans, fewer posts and headers, and when does 3.5 inches just not cut it anymore? (There I go ranting again )

 

[BridgeSmith]

"...when does 3.5 inches just not cut it anymore?"

When it doesn't. When you can't fit enough 2x4s between the doors to carry the out-of-plane bending, use 2x6s...or 2x8s...but not if you don't have to.

 

[waytsh]

I don't think I ever mentioned it but these are 2x6 walls.

 

[dhengr]

Waytsh:
This whole scheme looks like a botched abortion, and all the hardware and continuous LVL’s in the world, plus a few corner kickers, won’t save it, or fix it. As HotRod10, 18OCT18, 20:47 suggests, keep it simpler and cleaner and if it still doesn’t work, look for another solution or wall thickness or different sheathing scheme. At some point complicating a detail or situation some more just does not solve the problem, it usually makes it worse. At that point step back and see what other solutions are possible and how you can clean things up. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to look at 4 steel cols. and a 30-31’ long continuous steel beam, foundations to truss bearing elev., with heavy cap pls. btwn. them which develop some reasonable moment without yielding. Another suggestion by Tmoose, 15OCT18, 22:38, was one or two layers of sheathing on both sides of the wall and designing the whole thing as a deep box beam and wide boxed columns. I would feel better about taking that tack than all that misc. loose hardware trying to bridge a bunch of hinge locations and provide meaningful tension on the wall face surfaces.