How to Trim Headers for French Doors

Before you can install a new pair of French doors, you must install the header board and columns to support it. These pieces of wood trim the perimeter of the opening in the wall where you will install the French doors. The header transfers pressure from the wall, roof and anything else above the door opening away from the doors’ frame. The pressure then transfers to the columns, which direct the energy to the house’s foundation.

Measuring tape
2-by-4 boards
Sawhorses
Carpenter’s square
Clamps
Work gloves
Goggles
Circular saw
Hammer
Nails

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the width of the French door frame. Place a 2-by-4 board on a pair of sawhorses, and then measure the same distance plus 1 inch, marking the measurement on the board.
- 2
  Clamp the board to the sawhorses. Place a small carpenter’s square along the side and across the board where you marked, and draw a straight line across the board.
- 3
  Hold the board at the top of the opening in the wall for the French doors. Drive nails through the board and into the wall studs above, anchoring the board in place.
- 4
  Measure the distance between the floor and the header board you just installed. Transfer the same measurement to two boards, using the same method you used for the first board. Cut the boards along the line you draw.
- 5
  Insert the two boards you cut on either end of the opening in the wall. Drive nails through the top and bottom of the board at an angle, anchoring the board into the header and sill. Drive nails every 6 inches through the boards and into the adjacent wall studs, further anchoring the boards in place.

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