Shannon's Kitchen--Raise the Headers

This is Shannon's kitchen before we raised the headers:


This is Shannon's kitchen after we raised the headers:


The objective is to make the space feel more open, the headers were at a height of 6'8". We raised them to be flush with the ceiling at a height of 8'. In a one story, headers support the roof and/or ceiling. They are needed whenever there is an entry, doorway or window. An engineer determines the height and thickness of the header, then the city approves the plan. All headers rest on some sort of vertical support, such as several 2x4's, or are hung from another header using joist hangers. In the picture above, one end of each header rests on a 6"x6" beam. Later, we will frame this out to be a column and add another for decorative purposes on the opposite side.