Metal Framing?

nelzar13

Hey what going on all my first post on here.
Any ways i have a project that is probobly getting thrown my way that is a store for that calls for metal studs fo all of the interior walls. Now i have a few question mostly regarding doors as i have never delt with metal framing before.

First off How are headers to be done? is there a bracket that the 2X4 header piece slides in to? Is there somekind of special, reinforced header that is used?

Another question, door frames? Do you line the inside of the door frame with 2X4's so that you can have a good Nailing surface for your door frame to be screwed/ nailed into? Now that i think about it how is the base board
to be done? 2X4's on the flate between the studs as a nailer?

Some one has to have a couple of awnsers or atleast a referance i can use online for some of these. Forgive me if i sound like a retard but as a carpenter im broadening my horizons and diving into the unusual relm of metal?

Thnks ahead of time for any relpy's

gtmstang

I made the jump to metal about 2 months ago. I'm building storage buidings. I'm no pro but I'll tell you what I've learned. The headers on ours are metal like the studs and bolt into place. There's no wood anywhere. The door jambs and header have to be pretty much dead on and the doors mount with self drilling screws and we have dowels to cover the holes. Theres not as much fudge room with metal, but the good thing I've found is no warping or bending of walls. Squareness is alot better too. Like I said I'm no pro with metal I'm learning as I go. My metal supplier gets alot of calls during the day from me.

nelzar13

So do you have to order special header material.... Do you have any good references that you use online, does your supplyer have a web sight i could check out? I cant really seem to find anything local except my local lumber yard that carries steel studs?

rbsremodeling

When we frame with metal studs we reinforce doors,headers and cabinetry walls and such with studs inside the metal studs

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houston

same way we do it studs around doors and windows you could use a heavier gauge for hanging cabinets,but safer to run studs alongside,wood base we use a finish screw,but mostly glue on base

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houston

about making a header just use your track cut it about 10in longer so you can bend the ends over to screw to your sides i usually put a 2x4 under it for nailing door trim too,hopefully i make sense and hopefully it helps

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AtlanticWBConst

Headers in steel framing are generally non-structural, as there are simply part of partition walls inside a large building or strip mall.

It's been covered alreay by Houston.
For the header: the basic premise is to cutting the section longer, bending it downward at the ends, and installing.
To add to that:
The section is placed horizontally, with an additional 1" to 2" leg on each end. These legs are bent down vertically, and attached to the inside of the door opening studs (each side). Snip the sides off these legs so that the only portion is the flat 3-5/8" section. Install 2 sheetmetal screws through this and into the stud.
By doing it this way, you will not have the addtional 1-1/4 sides of the bent areas on the surface of the jamb studs, along with the screw heads, to add another 3/8" + of width of the wall, in those upper corner areas.

Now, a practice that we do, and that alot of installers do, is to frame the opening with 2x4's on all three sides. It gives the door opening more stability and rigidity. We use Fir studs, for less warpage.
So esentially, we will frame in the opening, per specs, but adjust the dimensions to install the 2x4's around the insides of each door opening.
Another thing to take into consideration is the type of doors being installed. i.e. - Kockdown steel frames? Solid wood panel? cheapo pre-hung?, etc... Different doors will have different connection/attachment points.

Alot of guys think that steel framing is a no-brainer. I used to think that way for years. Then we did some contract work for an "Old Timer" (He's retiring this year, his GC license number is 3 digits long).
Wow, this guy was good! You could walk around and study all the little details that he would do, and teach his workers to do. The skill is in the details. It changed the way I do steel framing.
Example: When installing steel frame solid core doors, he would order them with an L shaped anchoring plate, at the bottom off the jamb frames, turned inward. They would chisel out the concrete flooring, so the plate could sit recessed into the floor (threshold region). Then it would be installed with expandable concrete anchor bolts and then patched over the plate with concrete = SOLID.
Why? Those doors are very heavy, and they didn't want all the weight of the door to not sit on some flimsy 25g steel walls.

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nelzar13

Right on thanks allot guys thats kinda the way i was thinking about approaching the project. Im looking foward to firing this off to see how it goes.!