Walls and Ceilings - Garage Door Header Question

I have a detached garage at my house that was built prior to my purchase of the house. It appears to have been done just after the original garage was converted to living space. This is great because its larger than a regular 2 car garage and I spend a lot of time working on vehicles etc. The door is slightly under 82" high measured from the grade of the slab, not the approach. My truck is a tight fit and other slightly larger vehicles won't clear. The header is a 2x12 sandwich under the double 2x4 wall header. Should the 16' door header be under the double or should it be at the same height? I know this is a lot of work for 3" but it may as well be a mile for what I'm needing.

Thanks

Sorry Jester I'm not following you. If this is a 16' garage door header, in the load bearing wall of your shop, I don't think I'd tear into it without a local pro looking over the situation. If you just need a few inches, rent a bobcat, or a jack hammer & redo the approach, & pour yourself a new driveway.

Good luck.

I follow what you are suggesting. I always put the header under a single top plate so I can gain 1-1/2" of clearance. But the top plate is what holds it all together and keeps the wall straight. Since it is all together with ceiling joists and rafters, you probably COULD remove both top plates and raise the header 3". Or you could get a laminated beam that would be less than the 11-1/4" the sandwiched header is but still support the load. They make LVL's and glulam's in beam depths of 7-1/4" and 9-1/4" that might work, but you'd have to provide more info to the supplier for them to run by the manufacturer's engineering department.

Thanks guy,

I follow what you're saying now. Last night it was clear as mud, of course, did a 22' vault yesterday, was a bit pooped to say the least.

Thanks for the assist. ;) Good luck with the door.