Header Design for Large Glass Doors

Glass door headers are deflection-critical structural members that demand specialized design considerations beyond standard residential framing to ensure proper operation. When glass doors become difficult to open or fail to operate, the header design is often the root cause and requires careful engineering attention.

The header for a typical residential sliding or folding glass door is an example of a “deflection-critical” structural member that requires special design considerations over and above other common residential wood framing elements. If a sliding glass door is difficult to open, or inoperable, it…

This story was originally published by JLC Online.