Framing a new wall or door?
Consider using metal studs instead of traditional wood.
The traditional choice of materials forframing housesis wood.
Credit: David Tsay
But in commercial construction steel framing is the norm, largely because steel studs are inherently fire-resistant.
Steel framing, however, is gradually catching on with home remodelers.
It has some real advantages over wood: It is lightweight, inexpensive, and strong.
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Walls framed with steel are built in place, one piece at a time.
The primary fastener is a sheet metal screw; the primary tools are a drill/driver and metal snips.
For a concrete floor predrill 18-inch holes and attach the track with masonry screws.
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Use pan-head sheet metal screws for a wood floor.
If your wall runs parallel to the joists, install blocking to provide an anchor point.
Screw the track to the joists with pan-head sheet metal screws.
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Lay Out Studs
Lay out the stud locations on the top and bottom tracks.
Cut the studs to length and stand them in the tracks.
Friction will hold them in place while you check them for plumb.
Fasten them with short pan-head sheet metal screws.
Fastening Metal Framing:Metal framing requires a variety of specific screws.
Panhead sheet metal screws 12 inch long are used for fastening metal pieces.
These screws can also be used to attach the track to a wooden floor and ceiling joists.
Drywall screws 114 inches long are used for attaching drywall to metal studs.
To fasten metal track to aconcrete floor, use power-actuated fasteners or concrete screws.
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The power-actuated fasteners are fired from a nail gun you’re able to rent.
3 load with a 12- or 58-inch pin.
Make Headers
Make doorway headers from lengths of track.
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Cut the flanges at 45 degrees and bend down the web to form a right angle.
The bent part should be about 112 to 2 inches long.
Attach the header with a single screw driven through each of the four resulting tabs.
