Doors – skimp on the jack stud

carpentrydoorsloadload-bearing

Installing a closet in the very corner of an old house. Note, I don't have a proper king stud, but two 2x4s with a plywood spacer in the middle. This is a load bearing wall.

I'm working with very limited space. Right now, it looks like I will end up with an 18 1/4" door which is inconvenient and looks ridiculously small. However, if I use 3/4" plywood instead of a regular 2×4, I would end up with a 19" door which to me is worth it. This is on the top floor, so there's no wall above it, but there is a ceiling joist roughly in the middle of the door. The floor in the attic is plywood screwed to the joists.

Is this OK to do?
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Best Answer

Understand the constraints of the existing framing. I'd have probably kept the new vertical 2x4 you added 3.5" shorter (along with the plywood spacer you added), and made the header stick out 3.5" on that side to rest on top of that new 2x4. You'd essentially be using the existing vertical 2x4 as the king stud and your new 2x4 as the jack stud, just oriented differently than normal. This would at least give the header a solid piece to rest on, rather than relying on the sheer strength of the nails/screws you used to remain in the proper position. This is referred to as a "lap" joint.