wood stud dilemma

hi all, i am finally getting to the stage where i will start to build the rooms. the plan is to make double walls with two layers of sheetrock each. the ceilings for each room will be mounted on their walls, so every room becomes a box with no contact to the outer shell (brick). as i read here it seems that i need 2x4 studs 24 OC for the walls and 16 OC for the ceilings. will this be ok for all those load bearing walls? 2x4 inch means 5x10cm here in belgium. the standard size here however is 4x9cm (1,6x3,6") is this thick enough? will i have enough space to fix two panels of sheetrock to one stud? the problem is that if i want the exact 2x4" the price is double... any help would be appreciated! arjan

With out room dimensions it is impossible to answer. There must be design load tables for your area. Check on those, or hope that someone from your area replies, once you have given dimensions. Andre

sorry, here's the floorplan with the dimessions in cm's. the bathroom is already there, built in brick.

Hi Arjan the 2 x 4 is a nominal lumber size and the actual size can be as low as 1 1/2 x 3 1/2, see this link from the reference section for further info on sizes http://www.arnoldlumber.com/size.html I was looking at your floor plan and it raises a number of questions, the first is in relation to what I assume are the heights of the rooms, in the control room you show 3 different heights which seem just wrong to me ( I am no expert but have you tried drawing your plan in 3D?). The second is in relation to the ceilings and the spans in your rooms, in particular the live room which has one span of more than 5 metres at one point, I am pretty sure that 2 x 4 timbers would be pretty useless at such spans, in my own build we are using 2 x 6 timbers for spans greater than 3.2 m and 2 x 7's for spans greater than 3.6m, these are based on acceptable loads for these spans according to tables in the local building code here in N Ireland. Also the longest lengths of timbers available here are 4.8m in length which would not be sufficent to span the widest parts of your live room. Have you thought how you will deal with these spans? As I said earlier I am no expert and I really hope someone with greater expertise can help you find a solution to these potential difficulties. All the best with your build, Clunk

the red numbers on the plan are the available height. it is not the height of the rooms... and about the spans, i think i better talk to someone who has some expierience with it. because i really dont... i'm just a studio engineer who really wants his own place... :?

you should also talk about wall framing while you are at it. Here in the States, although 2' oc using 2x6 is your best LF wall system - and although you can use 2x4 2' oc with non-bearing walls - you cannot use 2x4 at 2' oc for bearing walls. You also have the option of using isolating hangers to carry some of the load from the structure above if you want to use 2x4's for ceiling joist. And - if designed correctly - they could then be 2' oc. Just be very careful if you take that route - if the hangers are not done right they become transmitters instead of isolators. Rod

i'd like to stay away from hangers. first for avoiding extra load to the existing roof, second because i think this is more difficult for an unexpierienced builder as me to do it right... what size should i be using for the bearing walls then?

barefootstudio wrote:

i'd like to stay away from hangers. first for avoiding extra load to the existing roof, second because i think this is more difficult for an unexpierienced builder as me to do it right... what size should i be using for the bearing walls then?

2 x 6 on 24" centers - that's your best base for good LF TL values. Rod

barefootstudio wrote:

the red numbers on the plan are the available height. it is not the height of the rooms... and about the spans, i think i better talk to someone who has some expierience with it. because i really dont... i'm just a studio engineer who really wants his own place... :?

Hi Arjan, have you thought about how the available height will affect the internal height of the control room, basically from the available height to the inside of the sheetrock on your ceiling you will lose anything upto 20cm leaving an internal height of about 180cm less the flooring thickness. Just something to consider. All the best, Clunk

have you thought about how the available height will affect the internal height of the control room, basically from the available height to the inside of the sheetrock on your ceiling you will lose anything upto 20cm leaving an internal height of about 180cm less the flooring thickness

i know... it's a shame... i'll have to make a sloped ceiling towards the wrong side... i hope i'll be able to fix this with a cloud above mixing position.

2 x 6 on 24" centers - that's your best base for good LF TL values

today i spoke to a carpenter who will help me with the framing and he assured me that 2x4 is enough for those walls. he said that after all the only thing they gonna have to carry are the ceilings. we also talked about the spans for the ceiling in the liveroom and his idea was to divide the room in three with something like 4x10 and then connect those with 2x4's. (see plan) the red lines are the 4x10's, the green ones are the 2x4's is he talking rubbish? what will happen if we build like he suggests? will my studio collapse? :shock:

I was talking about code requirements here in the states (I know I said that) but the larger point was the isolation, with yur max iso being gained with the 2x6 frame - not 2x4........... Rod

over here the price difference between 2x4 and 2x6 is huge... almost double. is it wourth it? i mean how much more isolation are we talking about?