Studs: steel vs. wood

  • Thread starter Thread starter gascap
  • Start date Start date
This is just a cost comparison.

I am taking my fairly oversized two car garage as my new project studio. We are having a new baby, so my studio upstairs is now deemed a nursery. :)

So, I am building a small shed out back to house the lawn stuff, etc. Now, I just priced my lumber and for giggles I priced the same in steel. Here is what I have:

Total cost of lumber: $115.34 (not including plywood)

Total cost of steel (again, no plywood): $77.60

WOW! What a savings. The only thing weird is that Home Depot, Sutherlands, etc doesnt carry steel studs here. I had to go to a specialty place which quoted me .20 a foot.
 
gascap said:


Either way (tinsnip awkwardness notwithstanding...HA!), I don't think one or two STC is worth the effort of finding good wood studs, and the all-important price differences.
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And I think I am with you on this, now. As you can see from my cost comparison...it is a huge jump. If I save almost $50 in building this shed then I know I am going to be saving serious dough on the studio construction.
 
(tinsnip awkwardness notwithstanding...HA!), I don't think one or two STC is worth the effort of finding good wood studs, and the all-important price differences. [/B]
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Picture a double amp stack (say, Marshall) rolling off a truck's ramp out of control, across your studio, into a steel studded wall and your wall bending, or even breaking.

can we say ooops?

Anyway, humor aside, cutting steel studs is as easy as wood studs, you just need a different saw blade. If you have a chop saw, use a cutting disk designed for cutting steel. If Sawzall is your tool of preference, they make blades for it that cut through the steel studs like butter.

Tin snips are definately not the way to go... unless you have leather gloves and/or a large bandaid supply :)
 
Thanks for the price lists/comparison. I think it will help many folks.

That IS weird that those those two chain-gangs don't carry steel -especially since here (just 3-1/2 hours north, they do AND in both 8' and 10' lengths.)

We have a 2 month old and a 3 year old so I know what it's like to be ousted from a comfy 'nursery-studio'. The good news for me was that our finished basement is fair game - hence the self-education of acoustic construction. I think I'll like the arrangement once it's all built (and the kid can sleep through the night.)

Good luck with the growing family!
 
gascap said:


Good luck with the growing family!
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Thanks! We have a 6 year old and now we have our second on the way.

I didnt mind been outed from my current project studio as I was outgrowing the space. The garage is very spacious, enough so that i might be able to open up for some outside work even.

Of course, I will have to stop working on my stuff long enough for that to happen. :p
 
According to Everest's books, steel studs outperform wood in some cases, because they are so thin they are more flexible than wood. In the case of a single stud wall with double layers of sheet rock, the steel will get better STC because the steel stud flexes when one side of the wall is presented with a sound wave, so that the sound is not transmitted through the wall as efficiently as it would be with a less flexible wood stud. I've seen recommendations to NOT use RC on a steel stud wall, because it isn't necessary.

From what I've read, I think if I were to construct a double wall, I would offset the studs so that the wallboard on one side would be stiffened at the point where the other side caused the most vibration. I'm not sure if steel studs would be a good idea for a dual, separate stud wall system - I would think that those flimsy steel studs might flex too much if there weren't wallboard mounted on both sides of each stud.

Maybe John can chime in here and straighten us out? C'mon, John, experience beats books any day, whaddaya say? Steve
 
Good point on the 'flex' issue - I hadn't thought of that.

Thanks!
 
Wow, this thread has opened my eyes a bit. I did not realize that they were so close regarding STCs. The price certainly makes it worthwhile using them.

I know that several of you have built with Steel - can you give those of us who are about to begin construction some tips? I've never worked with the stuff, and so I'm at a bit of a loss what tools to use, and how they are connected together securely.

I don't imagine glueing is an option ;) so how do you prevent them from rattling? do you use any kind of sealant that works better with steel than wood?

I'm about two weeks from actually beginning the framing, so now would be a great time to learn!

Also, any pic links would be great. There are so many studios at John Sayers site, he's going to have to categorize them in to different types soon to make them easier to find specific types!

This is a very cool thread.
 
version2 said:


Tin snips? Really? Im having a hard time believing this one...
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A better way to cut your steel studs is to turn the blade around on your framing hand saw ...if you have one.
 
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