door-framedoorsframing
I am trying to determine the cost, effort and complexity of adding sidelights to an entrance way that currently does not have them.
Would the entire front door way need to be re-framed, header, king/jack stud combination. Or do sidelights sit on the sides of the king/jack stud combination and so less re-framing is required.
[king][jack][Sidelight][ Door ][Sidelight][jack][king]
OR
[Sidelight][king][jack][ Door ][jack][king][sidelight]
Jay's plan to use beam pockets in the front wall will work fine. Dbl. top plates with no additional structure supporting a roof over a SIX foot span (as per Tester101's first suggestion) is entirely inadequate. Whether a 2x beam on edge is adequate, and how deep it is, depends on what the roof snowload is, if any.
There are also hardware beam hangers available that support the end of the beam and are nailed or bolted to the supporting studs in the front wall, eliminating the need to frame pockets. Tester101's second suggestion to use a ledger to support the beam end is a viable idea, but the connection of the ledger under the beam, into the studs needs to be carefully detailed.
A metal plate tying the two walls together is an important detail. Alternately, extend the dbl. top plates over the beam, lowering the beam 3" so the plates can still lap in a conventional manner. If you go with a hardware hanger or a ledger, the beam should be strapped to the sidewall top plate to hold it to the main structure in a wind storm or possibly an earthquake.
Along wind storm lines, be sure the beam is well connected to the outer post, and the post tied into the foundation, as there can be significant uplift forces on an open porch roof.
No, no and again NO. Not the way you suggest it, anyway.
This is an exterior wall. It is therefore a load bearing wall. Those two 2x4s (called jack studs) support the header over the window.
The weight of the rest of the house above the window is protected by the header, which in turn transfers the force to the two jack studs (as in they jack up the house) carry that weight to the underlying structure. If you remove one of the jack studs, too much force may be transferred to the other one, causing it to bow or even possibly fail. Either scenario translates to having weight of the wall above the house coming to rest on the window itself - and that is a BAD THING (TM).
If you wish to restructure for a larger opening properly, you must open the wall up further and relocate the king and jack studs, and install a longer (and possibly wider) header as well. Otherwise you can cause many tens of thousands of dollars of damage to your house.
Do not fiddle lightly with structure.
Best Answer
A door is held up by hinges in the jamb (the broad boards surrounding the door, perpendicular to the surface of the wall). The jamb is thin material, usually a little over 1/2 inch thick, but it is firmly nailed to the jack stud, which gives it rigidity, as does any casing added between the jamb and the wall. The header also sits on the jack stud.
While you might theoretically be able to move the king studs to the outside of the sidelights, you cannot move the jack studs outward. This would render the jamb the total support of the door (unacceptable) and would extend the span of the header (undesirable, often requiring a deeper header).
Also the king studs, which tie the king/jamb/door structure into the bottom and top plates would be further apart, reducing the rigidity of the structure nearest the door, where most of any flex occurs. Finally, any molding joining the jamb to the sidelights would likely be much narrower than traditional casing, again reducing rigidity.
Unless there is a compelling reason to narrow the vertical spacing between the door and sidelight, go with full stud/sidelight/king/jack/door ...
Even if there were a compelling reason, engineers and inspectors might disagree.
An exception might be for a sidelight/door/sidelight structure designed as a unit.