Attaching Header to Drywall

[Jonathan McCully]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I’ll go ahead anyway. 

I’m still working on my barn door. The progress has been slow of late as my co-worker, whose shop I’ve been working in, and I have had opposite schedules really limiting the time I have to work on it. I’ll continue to post the progress on that in my project journal.

This question is more related to the extension of the header board that I need to fasten to the wall. I’ve recently acquired my barn door hardware and will be attaching the rail through the header and into the studs of the wall, however, this rail will be attached in the upper 1/3 of the board and I’m curious about the best way to attach the bottom as I don’t want there to be a gap between the header and the drywall. Is there an adhesive that I should think about using on the back of the header board? How do builders typically attach header board without leaving visible screws? Any help would be amazing. I appreciate you guy as always.

[Coop]

If I understand the question correctly, my suggestion would be to install the header board and rail separately. As these are normally rustic looking, I would secure the header board into the studs with 5/16 lag bolts and washers, painted the same color as the hardware, and recess them using a Fortsner bit. Another alternative to the lag bolts are cabinet mounting screws made by GRK and available at HD. Then attach the rail to the header board, using their supplied screws. I installed one for a friend a while back and that was the path we took. 

[Jonathan McCully]

41 minutes ago, Coop said:

If I understand the question correctly, my suggestion would be to install the header board and rail separately. As these are normally rustic looking, I would secure the header board into the studs with 5/16 lag bolts and washers, painted the same color as the hardware, and recess them using a Fortsner bit. Another alternative to the lag bolts are cabinet mounting screws made by GRK and available at HD. Then attach the rail to the header board, using their supplied screws. I installed one for a friend a while back and that was the path we took. 

I appreciate the suggestions Coop, however, my header and door isn’t destined to have a rustic look. The header board will be painted white and I’d rather not have exposed hardware other than the rail.

[Coop]

On my friends install, the header was a 2x. Perhaps recess the header install with the referenced cabinet screws that are more shallow and cover them with plugs. I would still treat the header and rails as separate entities. 

[wtnhighlander]

Since the header will be painted, you could attach it with recessed screws, then laminate a thin board over it, screwing the rail hardware through both.

[legenddc]

I need a picture to understand exactly what you're looking to do.

Could you attach the header with recessed screws and plugs? Might want to measure/take pictures before you plug them so you can find it if you ever need to take it down. Keep in mind the header will be close over 80" high so not exactly at eye level and easier to cover up.

Any reason you can't just put the screws under the rail to cover it up?

[Jonathan McCully]

30 minutes ago, legenddc said:

I need a picture to understand exactly what you're looking to do.

Could you attach the header with recessed screws and plugs? Might want to measure/take pictures before you plug them so you can find it if you ever need to take it down. Keep in mind the header will be close over 80" high so not exactly at eye level and easier to cover up.

Any reason you can't just put the screws under the rail to cover it up?

I like the idea of screws and plugs. Have never worked with plugs before, so will need to understand that. Do I countersink the screw and then fill the hole with a small dowel plug? 

I agree that it won't be seen too much and that helps. The rail itself doesn't sit flush with the header, so if one looks closely, you'd still be able to see the screws, even if you just painted over the top of them. 

Ultimately, this is a brand new home, and I want any modifications that I make to look really nice.

[legenddc]

On 11/22/2021 at 10:35 AM, Jonathan McCully said:

Ultimately, this is a brand new home, and I want any modifications that I make to look really nice.

Don't you have kids? They can mess up your home for you.

I would suggest a face grain plug or getting a plug cutter so you don't see end grain circles through the paint.

 

 

[Jonathan McCully]

23 hours ago, legenddc said:

Don't you have kids? They can mess up your home for you.

Yes, definitely have kids, and they’ll do plenty to mess up the home. I’d just rather not contribute to it. 

Thanks for the info on the plug cutter. I haven’t seen one of those before. Might be a good way to go.

[legenddc]

Looks like they sell face grain plugs too if you only need it the one time.