Metal Studs

How thick should my walls be, should I float my floors (and if so, how), why is two leaf mass-air-mass design important, etc.

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Jai
Posts: 67
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:14 am
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Metal Studs

Post by Jai »

Hey all,

If you have seen any of my past posts, I am the guy who got busted using wood studs in a commercial facility and had to jump through a lot of hoops to get out of trouble. remember "FIREPOLY 75" Good, Cheap, only causes slite bleeding lung cancer. :shock:

Anyway.....

i am starting a new facility in Florida Next week. Single room, 350sqft. control with a slightly larger Iso/Tracking room. Heres the problem...

Of the studios I have built I have only engineered with wood studs. I know the weight load bearing limitations, how to nail the things together, etc. I have never engineered a steel stud frame of any kind. So here is a list of questions....

1. What will hold the weight of my ceiling. The steel studs I have seen, even the heavy guage, do not look as if they would hold the weight of 2 5/8" sheetrock, 1/2" plywood, and a whole lot of caulk.

2. All the steel studs from Home Depot are only 9' long. i need to span atleast 12'. Do I have to custom order. Therefore making them expensive as hell?

3. Someone told me that i have to weld the support frames together. Is this true? Now I have to learn how to weld?

4. How do I float the floor on metal studs? Once again I do not see the strength in the studs.

5. Doors? I make my own custom studio doors from Soundboard (7 pounds per foot), and two solid core doors (80 pounds each) after I am done, they weigh in the 300 - 350 pound range. What is going to hold these now?


As you can see, All my questions are on strength. I think this is just my not knowing anything about the metal studs. Any help on this would be great. I did not figure in a steel stud designer on the project quote, so I really can't afford one.

Thanks for all your great help and guidance,

jai
www.themixstudio.com
"Love the Music in Yourself,
Not Yourself in the Music."
dymaxian
Senior Member
Posts: 357
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2003 7:21 am
Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Post by dymaxian »

Hey there Jai!

Don't use the stuff from Home Depot. Those are for light interior partitions that aren't structural. For the stuff you can walk on and use for ceilings that'll be holding drywall you need to take a step up.

http://www.daleincor.com/

These guys will be able to help you out. We have a catalog of theirs in our office with construction details and sizing info... I'm sure it's available on-line somewhere. I don't have time to look, but if you need me to dig a little more, let me know.

Kase
www.minemusic.net
Kase
www.minemusic.net

"to hell with the CD sales! Download the MP3s and come to the shows!"
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