Hanging Items on Steel Studs in Homes and Buildings
With steel framing becoming more common for homes and buildings, knowing how to securely hang items on steel stud walls is important for homeowners and occupants. But working with metal studs often raises questions about difficulties and best practices for mounting TVs, shelves, artwork, and more. Here is an overview of key considerations:
Advantages of Steel Framing
While wood may be easier for hanging items in some ways, steel framing does offer several benefits:
• Does not warp, twist, or rot over time like wood
• Provided stability and structure in high-traffic areas
• Effective at spanning long walls or vaulted ceilings without added support
• Can be erected quickly and modified easily
• Thinner than wood allows more useable interior space
If properly constructed and finished, steel framed walls should pose no more problems for hanging items than traditional wood stud walls.
Locating Studs
The first challenge is finding studs behind the drywall, as metal studs are typically spaced 16 inches apart. Since screws or bolts must anchor securely into the stud, homemade stud finders often don’t work well on steel. Use a commercial-grade metal stud finder instead. These use various detection methods like magnetic, capacitance, or density readings to accurately locate steel studs. Alternately, carefully drill small pilot holes to probe for studs if needed in a specific spot.
Strength and Weight Considerations
Cold-formed galvanized steel studs consist of thinner but stronger steel than their wood counterparts. One 16g 3 5⁄8 inch metal stud can support over 500 lbs mounted near the center. So capacity to handle heavy items is usually not an issue. However, the thinner cross-section means less screw or bolt threads engage to grip. Heavier items therefore require more substantial fasteners secured snugly into the stud. Toggle bolts distribute weight better than basic screws. Always check maximum weight ratings and properly secure hardware for heavy objects like shelving units or wall-mounted TVs.
Use Appropriate Hardware
Screws or bolts fastening into steel studs should be hardened, self-drilling types like GRK RSS or self-tapping mounting bolts designed for use with metal. Avoid standard coarse thread drywall or wood screws. They have little holding strength in the slick galvanized steel. Proprietary steel-to-steel fasteners bite cleanly through the surface providing maximum grip.
Get Your Dream Home With BuildMax Steel Frame Kit Homes
Are you looking to build your dream home, but don’t want the high costs and labor associated with traditional construction? BuildMax offers an innovative solution – quality steel frame kit homes based on engineered plans.
Save Money With DIY Building
BuildMax provides complete structural framing kits, 3D construction drawings, and building guides to construct high-quality steel frame houses yourself. Compared to conventional stick framing, the BuildMax steel frame barndominium kits help homeowners save 20-30% on construction costs through DIY building. The precision-engineered bolt-together metal studs assemble rapidly to enclose homes in days versus weeks. No cutting, welding, or special tools are needed!
Choose From Flexible Floor Plans
Buildmax offers floor plans across a variety of home styles and sizes. Choose from 1 to 3+ 3-bedroom single-family homes, garages with bonus rooms, multi-unit residential spaces, and more. Or use an existing plan as the base template for customization. Their in-house design team tailors Barndominiums to meet your specific spatial, aesthetic, and functional needs.
Engineered For Safety and Strength
At the core, BuildMax utilizes sturdy light gauge steel frames instead of wooden 2×4 construction. The result is exceptional structural integrity and weather durability. Being non-combustible, steel construction also provides enhanced protection in fire-prone areas. All BuildMax components meet stringent wind, snow, and seismic ratings as certified by an independent engineering firm.
Simplified Building Process
Buildmax ships directly to your Build site with all framing materials color-coded and or numbered for straightforward assembly. Step-by-step user assembly instructions, useful knowledge base, expert support, and optional on-site Crew to set up the steel framing kit. To ensure anyone can tackle building one of these DIY steel frame homes. Simply lay out and connect the components with basic tools. Then contract out the rest, and finish the interior to your taste.
For an innovative construction solution to create your own custom Steel barndominium, investigate BuildMax’s quality steel frame kits. Call or visit their website today for a free consultation!
With the right methods and hardware, steel stud walls should give reliable strength for hanging virtually anything encountered in residential or commercial spaces. Just take care to securely anchor all attachments directly into the structural steel studs themselves. This avoids issues with weight capacity or loosening over time.
