The wood framing member that supports a header over a door is called a

• A. trimmer
• B. king stud
• C. purlin
• D. cripple

Answer: (A)

In door framing, the header carries the load above the opening, and its ends need support. The vertical member directly under each end of the header is the trimmer (also known as a jack stud). It takes the weight from the header and transfers it down to the bottom plate and into the wall structure. The king stud sits alongside and runs full height, providing overall wall support but not directly bearing the header. A cripple is a short stud above the header to fill space up to the top plate, not the one supporting the header itself. So the piece that actually supports the header over a door is the trimmer.