I’ve started a new project where I’ll be opening up the wall between a client’s kitchen and dining room. I started removing drywall and found this enormous header above the doorway…
And it’s a NON load-bearing wall!
The header is a double 2×10 with a flat 2×4 on the bottom. In a non-bearing wall like this the flat 2×4 is all that you need so this is overkill. Most likely, the builders had some 2×10 scraps laying around and decided to use it. However, I also did some renovations at the neighbors home and it had the exact same header. Hmmm…
Even if it was load bearing, this is grossly oversized. I guess it doesn’t hurt anything, but it’s always best to use the appropriate materials for the job, and that includes the right size of materials…
-Peter
