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| If you've ever worked with conventional, wood two-by-fours you likely noticed that they can be as individual as fingerprints. In the marketplace, because of excessive logging over the years, the straight, clear studs of your father's day are becoming as scarce as a cheap sheet of plywood. Nowadays, you could probably spend hours in the lumberyard sorting through knotted, warped, water-logged, twisted, split or bark-edged pieces that are the bane of wood frame construction. As the old timers say, “It's hard to find a board that's straighter than a dog's hind leg.” Kiln-drying can alleviate some of the twists and warps but even kiln-dried material needs to be sorted through. |
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Once used primarily in commercial construction, steel stud framing is becoming more commonly used in residential applications. |
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There is an alternative for building walls with wood. It's a product that has been the mainstay of commercial building for many years: steel studs. They are made from light-gauge, galvanized steel. This allows them to be lighter than wood and, in many cases, cheaper as well. They come in many lengths and can be fastened together with as few tools as a drill and a pair of sheet metal cutters.. You also don't need a chop saw for cutting lengths or a jigsaw to make holes. Why? Because the studs can be purchased in many standard lengths and widths and the holes for conduit and pipe are already stamped out. Additionally, by using a laser level, the wall can be a straight as an arrow in far less time that it takes to adjust wooden studs. |
| Dean Jarvis, president of Florida Renovators Inc. in North Largo, Florida and a steel framer, says that steel is 33 times stronger than wood having a 33,000-psi rating while wood only has 1,000-psi. This lessens the reliance on extra wood supports when building a structure. They are also 60 percent lighter and stack neatly together which cuts down on delivery charges. More builders in hurricane-prone areas are starting to use it in new home construction. In addition to their strength and lightness, steel studs are termite-proof, rot-proof and mold-proof. As well, Jarvis explains, “Steel studs don’t shrink, they don’t move and they’re not organic." Commenting on the possibility of corrosion on a well-built structure he states, "The back of a screw might rust slightly after 100 years.” |
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There are some great sites on the web showing detailed, step-by-step instructions for steel framing but for the purposes of this article we are going to look at interior walls and ceilings. With today's building technologies the rule-of-thumb is that once you have your load bearing structure built you can pretty well put your walls where you want them. Many additional forces come to play when steel framing is used on outside walls, such as: corrosion, heat loss prevention (Thermal Bridging) and moisture. For interior walls the assembly can be as easy as using a “Mechano Set.” However, like any other building trade, it takes training and practice.
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| Many contractors will not recommend steel studs for the basement because of the moisture causing problems. However, others feel that this can be addressed by placing a pressure treated 2x4 on the concrete floor as a foundation for the bottom steel channel piece. Any moisture will stay below the steel. |
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Wiring with Steel Studs
The challenge with interior walls is where to put the electrical, plumbing and HVAC. In the picture to the right, a kitchen wall with wiring and the ductwork for the range fan is shown. For most interior steel stud applications there are basically only two pieces:
- The uprights have a 'C' cross section with holes punched at regular intervals for running phone, CAT5, cable and electrical wires. The electrician will use plastic inserts to prevent contact between the edges of the metal and the wire casing.
- The other piece is a horizontal track for both top and bottom that has a 'U' shape.
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Steel stud framing in a kitchen. Electrical wiring shown. |
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Plumbing with Steel Studs
As this next picture demonstrates plumbing is also easier and the pipes can be fitted into the holes in the studs with minor modifications. Other additions like the washing machine conduit is easily screwed onto the supports. There is no drilling or fighting to slide pipes through thick wooden holes. In this case the floor is concrete with a pressure-treated 2 x 4 as the foundation point. This is put into the floor with Hilti fasteners and the “U” channel is affixed directly to it with screws.
Steel framing will most certainly replace wood for interior work just as sheet rock replaced plastering. And as for complete building projects a least one product, the Delta Steel Stud, is a step closer to solving the insulation woes of steel construction. |
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Steel stud framing in a laundry room. Plumbing shown. |
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| The Delta stud was developed 12 years ago in Canada and, unlike regular steel studs, the design incorporates air within the post webbing. The company claims this technology produces a stud that is just as strong as a solid-web steel stud, but with thermal characteristics of a 2 x 6 Douglas-fir. This prevents “thermal bridging” where the cold is transferred from the outside air through the steel and into the interior of the home. |
| As more of the heat and moisture concerns are solved a wholesale conversion to steel building might be just around the corner. |
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