Hi all,
I am new to this forum, and have done an unsucessful search for an answer, so please forgive me if this subject has already been covered…
I am finishing my basement using steel studs, my first attempt with steel, and have found it quite easy to use. My only real hangup is framing the doors. The guy at home depot told me that I need to double the studs up on either side of the door, by snapping them together. I had no trouble snapping the 2 1/4″ studs by Unimast together but have been having no success at all using the 3 1/2″ studs from Dietrich. Are their any tricks that you guys know of to make this simple? I have saved a ton of time by using steel to frame the general walls, but then wasted it trying to build the door frames.
Any help is greatly appreciated,
Dave H
Replies
We typically do one of two things when framing door openings in steel studs, it depends on the kind of door you are using. For a wood door, with a typical jamb and trim, fasten the rough opening studs with the flat sides toward the opening. Rip a 2X4 to slip into the "c" side of the stud, and go from there. it gives rigidity, and a nail/screw base for the trim. With a steel frame knock-down type jamb, we take two studs and turn them sideways with the flat sides toward the drywall, attach them top and bottom. Cut the track for the top of the opening allowing for about 4" turning down both legs of the jamb, then attach track from there to the bottom plate. When that is screwed together and the drywall is applied, it makes a good rigid (almost box-beam) for the sides of the opening. I hope that this helps.
Nathan
Generally we use 22 ga. stud arond rough openings for doors in commercial framing. They are doubled on each side to add stiffness to the wall and support the metal jambs we install. The studs do not snap together, but are placed side by side.
The same stiffness is needed in a residential application and you also need a nailing surface for the use of wood jambs and cassing. You can achieve both by framing the metal studs three inches wider than a normal rough opening and wrapping the inside with 2x4s. Make sure they run from the bottom track to the top track, then add the header and remaining steel studs. I have also found that adding blocking at about 1/2 the wall height for three or four feet on each side of the opening takes most of the shake out of a steel stud wall when a door is closed to hard(slammed). The blocking can be wood or the scrape steel cut offs. If you are going to use a wood baseboard, now is the time to add blocking. It makes installing the base much easier if you are hand nailing.
Hope this helps.
Dave