Framing Your Basement With Steel Studs

First of all in getting ready for framing  your basement with steel studs  you are going to have to prepare, this is one of the most important parts of any project. Make sure your work area is ready by this I mean clear out any furniture or items that are going to be in the way of you working.Store somewhere else if possible maybe your friends and family can help your store your items for a while or put them out to the garage if you have one, now if it is your basement you are finishing make sure have gutted and cleaned out your basement so you have a nice clean start. If this is a new home this should not be a problem but if it is an older home and you have to remove previous owners attempts at your basement and many times these efforts are undesirable, do not be shy rip it all out until you have the original basement back. There is a two fold benefit to this, one it will be like working with a new home and two you can remove any unwanted partitions and problems that may be behind those old ceilings and walls.This may seem like a lot of work but you will soon see the benefits of this.

Just a note: If you are planing your job for down the road time wise, you can do this part way in advance as it does not require a lot of money just some old fashion hard work.

Once your work space is ready you can plan your layout for your new project, take your time so you know exactly what you want. In starting you want to do all your outside walls in your basement first. So measure your outside walls in running lengths with this I mean do not try and figure out each wall individually so by way of example if your basement is 30 X 40 feet you want enough material for 140 running feet this keeps things simple and  you will need more later for the rest of your job, but it is a good starting point and will give you an idea of the cost for your framing. Now taking our example of 140 running feet of outside wall you will need track this is the top and bottom of your steel wall, so you need 140 for the top and 140 for the bottom a total of 280 feet of running steel track so if the track comes in10 foot lengths you need 28 lengths or pieces of track.

But you are going to also use a 2x4 wood stud bottom plate along with your steel track bottom plate. I know you are using two bottom plates ,but at 140 running feet or 14 ten foot 2x4 the cost is small and you will be thankful when you start trimming. And it is hardly any extra work this you will see very quickly when you start building your wall. Figure out your vertical steel studs for your outside wall  at roughly 16 inch centers a quick count will do to start or just buy a couple of bundles. So once you have your starter material you will need a hand held ram set tool , 2 inch pins and shots for fastening down your 2x4 wood base plate to the concrete floor and 1/2 inch self tapping screws for fastening the studs. Also 1 1/4 inch drywall Screws and drill with Philips bit  for fastening your steel track on top of  the 2x4 wood floor plate and a good level and metal snips.  Now your ready to start your first outside wall.

Pick a back outside wall and take your ten foot piece of  track and holding it up to the floor joist and 1 inch out from your concrete wall and with your drill, screw an 1/1/2 inch drywall screw through the steel track into your first floor joist then go to the other end of your track and do the same this is fairly easy as the track is very light and easy to handle. Now continue this procedure until you have your top track up around your outside walls putting drywall screws in each floor joist and keeping a 1/2 inch space between your ajoining walls so your drywall can slide through. If your floor joist is running in the same direction as the wall you want to build you will have to put in 2x4 cross braces  no more than two feet apart so you have something to screw your top track to. Now for your floor track cut 2x4 studs to run the full length of your first wall for instants if you have a twelve foot wall you will have a 8 foot stud than cut a 4 foot piece, lay them along your wall and take a10 foot track and from the four foot piece lay the track on top spanning over top where your 2x4 studs join. you will notice that the track is a bit wider than the 2x4, so place it flush to the face side of the wood for your outside wall and screw your track to the top of the wood with the 1 1/2 drywall screws so now your have your bottom wood base with a track screwed to the top.

 Place your bottom wood and steel track against your wall and measure from the ceiling track down to the floor track, now cut a wall stud with your metal snips about 1/4 inch shorter so it fits without binding and place it in your bottom and top track at on end of your wall do not fasten just eye it straight. take the level and place it on the stud and move your bottom track in or out until your stud is level, now take your ram set and load a pin and a shot and about 6 inches from the end shoot the bottom track to your concrete floor. Repeat this at the other end of your wall and then in the center of your wall, making sure each time the wall is level. Put shots at no less than every 24 inches now cut enough studs for the whole wall at 16 inch centers keep checking the measurements of your studs as the lengths can change if there is a slope in the floor. Place your studs in your wall and just eye them up and this is important DO Not Fasten Them  just leave loose you will see why later. Now as this is your back wall you can place a stud at either end against the concrete wall and fasten them top and bottom with zip screws {or if you wish ram set these studs to the concrete}.In your back wall you are going to fasten two more studs in where your other outside wall meets your back wall you need to fasten a stud in the center where the two walls meet at both ends of your back wall, these are your anchor studs that you will use later to join and lock in your corners more on this when you get to putting up your drywall so you should now have four studs screwed in place and the rest are loose.

 

Now you  have your back outside wall complete except for fastening everything in place, repeat these steps with the rest of your outside walls and just make sure that the top and bottom tracks are fasten securely and leave everything else loose especially the corners because when you put the drywall up on the back wall the studs on the other wall must be able to slide up against the drywall on your back wall and fasten into the stud you placed there.Do not try to make your corners before hand as this involves your drywall as I just described. OK this should keep you busy for a little while next we will move on to partition walls and framing for your doors. Always remember that steel stud framing is reliant on the drywall installation as this is what locks in your corners and strengthens your whole job, you are not at that point yet but keep it in mind as it will become clear soon.