# Metal Studs????



## ARKFRAMER (Mar 7, 2004)

Hey Ya Ll New Here So Bare With Me. We Are Out Of Metal Studs In Ark. Where Did They Go??? Does Anybody Else Have The Same Problem??? Thanks


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## hatchet (Oct 27, 2003)

Yep.. supply of metal studs is going down... in turn price is going up. Most steel/iron products are increasing in price by around 10% a month.


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## theman (Dec 25, 2003)

Rich

In upstate New York its the plywood that doubled to $ 28.00 for 5/8 I was told its going to Iraq which makes short supply.


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## hatchet (Oct 27, 2003)

Yep.. that's going up too. I got lucky on the project I'm working on right now. We ended up buying some 3/4" plywood from another project for 62.5 cents/sf. This stuff is A-B exterior grade plywood. Right now I doubt you could buy it for $2 / sf.


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## Grumpy (Oct 8, 2003)

Jeez I Hate When People Talk With A Cap On The First Letter Of Every Word. It's Something That Has Pissed Me Off Since I Was Sixteen.

Yeah the hurricane really made the plywood price increase, then it went down for about 2 months and with all of the supply being shipped to Iraq, the price is going back up.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

I know that I'm going to PO some people. I hate metal studs! They're only value is to hold up drywall, another item that I'm not real keen on. The two, together equal a breakaway set on a Hollywood movie.
I am frequently asked to mount TV stands to these walls or large trophy mounts. It can't be done on my insurance.


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## hatchet (Oct 27, 2003)

I have to agree with you Teetor. Even if you sheet them with plywood I wouldn't trust them.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Hatchet, I covered one of these walls with slat board for one of my Interior Designers. Fortunately the wall was on 16's. If I remember correctly, it was about 36 moly's, through the studs. The wall is used to hold wallpaper samples on cantilevered racks, about 2,000 lbs per panel. It's been 5 yrs. and still holding but it would have been faster and cheaper on wood plus I wouldn't still be monitoring it.


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## hatchet (Oct 27, 2003)

Huh.. wood for me. Another spot for metal studs is in return air plenums where there can be no combustible material.


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## boardslinger (Apr 1, 2004)

I know I'm really late here guys, but just in the last month alone here in Az. the price of steel has tripled. We were buying ours at .30 cents a foot. It's now .90 cents. The explaination we got is that it is going to China like it's going out of style. It's also expected to raise again. So you know the trend that is coming next. Wood going up, drywall going up, and so on and so on.

Teetor, if you ever make it down this way I'll show you a few 25 ga. walls with t.v galore mounted on them. Flat strap is a framers best friend.


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

Boardslinger, We have been at this before. I would really appreciate it if you would explain how to do this. It deserves its own thread. Please concentrate on the cheap studs that all of the contractors actually use instead of what they should have used.
When I sink a 5/16 X 3" lagbolt into a 2X4 I know that the expected tensile strength is approximately 500 lbs. and shear deformity will occur at about 750 lbs., failure is at about 1000 lbs. This applies to occupied spaces and as such must have a safety factor of 3.0.
I want to know how to get the same results when working with metal studs.


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## boardslinger (Apr 1, 2004)

Quite truthfully Teetor, to do this on a preexisting home, is going to require removing some rock off the wall. Adding either 3", 4", or 6" flat strap. Flat strap is 16 ga so you can really get a good bite. Or the other way is to installe wood blocking in areas for mounting t.v., cabinets, and whatever else you have a hankering to scew to a wall. Alot simpler on a new house or builing


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## zbwmy (Oct 3, 2004)

I was going to use steel studs for a below grade basement playroom. Didn't want all that warping of wood studs in the moist air. Is there an alternative?


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

You need to solve the moisture problem before you do anything else. Trapping moisture behind any type of wall is going to cause problems down the road. I'm thinking of mold way before any structural degradation.


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## jamesr (Jan 19, 2005)

Teetorbilt said:


> I know that I'm going to PO some people. I hate metal studs! They're only value is to hold up drywall, another item that I'm not real keen on. The two, together equal a breakaway set on a Hollywood movie.
> I am frequently asked to mount TV stands to these walls or large trophy mounts. It can't be done on my insurance.


Now that I finally did a job with metal studs I agree 100%.

They were slow going up, I cut my hands up, they were expensive, and now i have no good way to hang trim. Give me wood studs any day. Not to mention steel stud are going for about a dollar more a piece than wood here.


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## eddiemac (Dec 6, 2004)

Teetorbilt said:


> I know that I'm going to PO some people. I hate metal studs!


I was going to us metal studs for an outdoor barbecue grill setup. The plans were written using wood 2x4s and plywood for the stand, etc. It is a fairly elaborate setup for a grill, but you gotta have the best one in the neighborhood, right?

Anyway, I was going to use metals studs rather than 2x4s, and cementboard instead of plywood. You also gotta make sure your garage doesn't burn down, right?


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

eddie, you have to weigh your options and I'm still against metal studs. I wish Boardslinger would have hung around. Wood rots and gets bugs. Metal rusts and weakens. For a BBQ I'd go brick or block.


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## eddiemac (Dec 6, 2004)

Teetorbilt said:


> You need to solve the moisture problem before you do anything else. Trapping moisture behind any type of wall is going to cause problems down the road. I'm thinking of mold way before any structural degradation.


That was my original plan, but I thought that this might be a little more versatile with regard to size, shape, etc., although I was just going to follow plans with some minor alterattions.

Mostly, I saw this and decided it would be cool to do. But I was also thinking that the metal would not burn in the case of a mishap (not that I would ever have barbecue mishaps), and since itwould be under the cement board, it would not be exposed to the elements.

Probably, I'll just go with brick. More likely, I'll be too busy and abandon the project. Most likely, my wife will tell meshe'd rather have me doing somethng else.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

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## PipeGuy (Oct 8, 2004)

Me and some guys at our neighborhood pool are trying to come up with some ideas for building a large barbeque. This sounds like it might be a good idea. Have either of you seen a plan or are you creating as you go?


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