Framing Studs

[cfuehrer]

I see a few people are using metal framing studs inplace of wood. Is this better? Would you use it just in the walls or in the floor too?

[knightfly]

Just in the walls, they're not heavy enough for floor usage. Typical steel wall studs are anywhere from 25 gauge to 20 gauge (.032" to .018"), depending on purpose. There are special ones for load-bearing walls, they have heavier flanges for more strength.

The lighter gauge metal studs flex more than a solid 2x4, so they decouple the two leaves of a wall more. This improves isolation, especially in the mid to upper frequency ranges. In some cases, it eliminates the need for Resilient Channel in a wall.

For more info, here's a couple of sources -

http://www.usgaction.com/handbook/toc.htm

http://www.usg.com/Design_Solutions/2_3 ... struct.asp

http://www.usg.com/product_index/_produ ... eenLink=98

Plus, one other advantage is you don't have to cut out the knots... :=)