Oklahoma, Heavy Stud / Track Guaged Hotel Interior Walls?

onefm

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?

A+ Texture

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

bwalley

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.

joasis

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

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

A+ Texture

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

1StpKitchenShop

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

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Roaddoggie

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.