How a door or window opening is framed — king, jack, header, and cripple studs

Every opening is framed the same way: king studs tie it to the wall, jacks carry the header, and cripples fill above the header and below the window sill. The rough-opening width/height are your inputs; the header size comes from the IRC R602.7 table.

A wall elevation showing the parts that frame an opening. Full-height king studs on each side tie the opening into the wall. Shorter jack (trimmer) studs inside the kings carry a built-up header that spans the opening and routes the load down to the jacks. Cripple studs fill the short space above the header, and for a window a rough sill with cripple studs below it closes the bottom of the opening. The rough-opening width and height are the dimensions you enter; the header size comes from the IRC R602.7 span tables. — Source: IRC 2021 R602.7 / R602.7.5

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A wall elevation showing the parts that frame an opening. Full-height king studs on each side tie the opening into the wall. Shorter jack (trimmer) studs inside the kings carry a built-up header that spans the opening and routes the load down to the jacks. Cripple studs fill the short space above the header, and for a window a rough sill with cripple studs below it closes the bottom of the opening. The rough-opening width and height are the dimensions you enter; the header size comes from the IRC R602.7 span tables.

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    <img src="https://remodelcalculators.com/api/figure-embed/framing-opening-anatomy" alt="A wall elevation showing the parts that frame an opening. Full-height king studs on each side tie the opening into the wall. Shorter jack (trimmer) studs inside the kings carry a built-up header that spans the opening and routes the load down to the jacks. Cripple studs fill the short space above the header, and for a window a rough sill with cripple studs below it closes the bottom of the opening. The rough-opening width and height are the dimensions you enter; the header size comes from the IRC R602.7 span tables." width="800" height="500" style="width:100%;height:auto;border:0" loading="lazy">
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    Diagram: <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com/construction-diagrams/framing-opening-anatomy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How a door or window opening is framed — king, jack, header, and cripple studs</a> — courtesy of <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RemodelCalculators.com</a>
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