# Oklahoma, Heavy stud / track guaged hotel interior walls?



## onefm (Apr 17, 2009)

I'm in Texas and we do many hotels a year. I'm about to quote a job in Oklahoma, and they are asking for 12 guage track, and 16 guage studs for the interior walls. I've never seen that. We usually do 25 or 20 guage for interior walls. 

Would that be due to the tornados in Oklahoma?


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## A+ Texture (Sep 23, 2008)

Sounds like a good question, I'd just ask them if thats their reasoning...


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## bwalley (Jan 7, 2009)

onefm said:


> I'm in Texas and we do many hotels a year. I'm about to quote a job in Oklahoma, and they are asking for 12 guage track, and 16 guage studs for the interior walls. I've never seen that. We usually do 25 or 20 guage for interior walls.
> 
> Would that be due to the tornados in Oklahoma?


Nothing is going to stop a tornado, not sure why such heavy guage steel.

Make sure you take into account money for drycut blades, it is going to eat up a bunch of them, and they are about $200 eacc, and the saw is about $500, an abrasive blade will not cut that heavy guage steel very well and it will end up burning up a bunch of blades and depending on how much you are running figure in a saw or two.

I am doing a job with 18 and 20 guage now and the 6" 18 guage is eating up blades.

It is also going to be a PITA running your drywall screws into it, you will need drill point screws.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

I bet my son would love the insulation job on that project. 

I can't fathom why they would spec that gauge, except, in a hotel room, I would guess they want the walls to stand up to impact...accidental or intentional.


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## Softy (Jul 26, 2009)

Isn't that state got wipe out by tornado last year or two ago?


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## A+ Texture (Sep 23, 2008)

Don't be crazy. OK doesn't get tornados very often.


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## 1StpKitchenShop (Feb 6, 2012)

There were a couple towns hit here last year by tornado's, but nothing like what hit Joplin!


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## Roaddoggie (Jan 27, 2012)

Those are structural grades (smooth versus the dimpled drywall grades of 20 or 25), and very stout ones at that. I don't have a Dietrich catalog in front of me but I think 12g is as thick as it gets with steel studs. It could have do with the stud spacing and width.


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## Sir Mixalot (Jan 6, 2008)

onefm said:


> I'm in Texas and we do many hotels a year. I'm about to quote a job in Oklahoma, and *they are asking for 12 guage track*, and 16 guage studs for the interior walls. I've never seen that. We usually do 25 or 20 guage for interior walls.
> 
> Would that be due to the tornados in Oklahoma?


Maybe that wall is a load bearing?


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

commercial jobs require a stronger stud .


in the hotels I've worked in also require black iron channel in the wall and 5/8 sheetrock everywhere


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

When I was an apprentice I worked on a large department store reno.

Everything was done with 16 ga 3 5/8 studs. And not a single wall the load bearing. 

Even free standing fitting room walls were 16 ga.

Make sure u use self tappers :laughing:

I was the cut man on the metal chop saw for 2 months and cut all day. It Su*ked... 

I changed blades about 4 times a day. You really need to let the blade do the work. Steady even pressure. And buy the blades designed for steel studs it helps. And the higher quality the blade the longer it lasted I found.


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## Rich D. (Oct 14, 2011)

The 12 ga track is nuts. Wonder why the want that...???


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