Stud wall

WillyNelson

WillyNelson

WillyNelson

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[Now with added DIY porn]

Following on from this thread I've started the ball rolling on the project. Using that most modern of technologies, masking tape, I've laid out on the floor of our open plan living room where the hall and dining room walls will be. The hall wall will be 100mm wide and the dining room more like 180mm, as the existing 'stub' wall the other side was built out to match the RSJ in the ceiling.

So before I get stuck in, ordering timber & ripping up the flooring, etc, any advice from anyone who's done this type of thing before would be greatly appreciated.
 
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You say you're butting up to an RSJ in the ceiling?

Are you planning on screwing into the RSJ?
 
That is a ruddy good point! I suspect the steelwork is clad beneath the plaster. I may have to do a bit of investiagtive work to check what sort of fixing I can get in.

Would drilling into the RSJ be a big no-no then? Or is it just a question of difficulty?

edit: How about fitting the header plate for that part REALLY tight to the underside of the RSJ, ie. using tight fitting studs (+2mm so you really have to hammer them in) and some sort of gripfill adhesive on the upper side of the header plate?
 
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I planned on going into the RSJ with some self-tapping screws provided by a builder but I didn't have anything powerful enough to drive them in with.

I ended up using adhesive on the top of the frame and ensuring that the frame was tight against it using the two side struts and placing them 'inside' the top and bottom of the frame, meaning they added their strength to the overall. It did also mean using a little more wood inside the frame just to further add to that strength, but it's been up over a year now with no issues at all :)
 
In the past I when you could get a Hiltigun, I use to fire straight into wood & rsj. Last one I did I Gripfill the top plate in place against rsj flange, & then cut studs to be a tight fit, had to hammer them into place (not so tight as to bow them), then nailed them to sole plate & top plate.
Also after fixing studs, I fixed extra noggins to sole plate to give extra fixing area for skirting to be fixed to, if you nail/screw it, I tend to gripfill skirting now, a neater finish.

EDIT: GILLY:I planned on going into the RSJ with some self-tapping screws provided by a builder but I didn't have anything powerful enough to drive them in with.

:(

Don't you own a large screwdriver, & have big musles in your arms?
That's how it was done in the old days...:D
 
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Excellent. I think glue & hammer will be the way to go. I don't much fancy stripping plasterwork & drilling steel if I can safely avoid it. Thanks chaps :)

Good advice re the extra noggins Nightglow. I may be old fashioned but I think Id prefer to nail them in. Tall skirting in our place too so I'd be less confident gripfilling that.
 
Don't be afraid to add extra noggins elsewhere as you build the stud wall,if you have 9" skirting, if you think you need them.
 
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If you are doing a lot then cut a noggin first and use this to space out your uprights. If you place it on the bottom and then place the upright, it makes it a lot easier to nail it in place. Then transfer the noggin to the top and nail the upright at the top. Keep checking that it's level as you go along.

Same with placing the noggins. Cut an offcut to the height you want the noggins an then use this to rest the noggin onto to nail it in place.

I'd suggest screwing the skirting board in place as this will allow you to easily remove it should you want to fit laminate or wood floors in future etc. Gripfill can sometimes take a fair bit of skim with it if you're not careful and nails will be hard to remove without damaging the plasterboard. Also I usually mark the floor where the uprights are and then once skimmed I transfer the mark to the plaster, so I know where the timbers are. Then I screw the skirtingboard into them.

I have put concrete bolts into RSJs before now. Drill a hole slightly smaller than the thread of the concrete bolt and it will self tap into the steel.
 
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Nightglow said:

EDIT: GILLY:I planned on going into the RSJ with some self-tapping screws provided by a builder but I didn't have anything powerful enough to drive them in with.

:(

Don't you own a large screwdriver, & have big musles in your arms?
That's how it was done in the old days...:D
Click to expand...

It's difficult to get your weight behind it when you're working straight up but I even tested hammering some nails into it, it just bent the nails!

I think I've got the worlds first diamond RSJ :o
 
I do 400mm centres as well. Better to have as many fixing points in the wall as possible and also makes the wall not sound as hollow as with 600mm. You can get 400mm insulation, but it usually works out cheaper to just buy a roll and cut it to the right width yourself anyway.
 
Nope, I've not got round to doing this yet. Electrical work booked in for the week after next so I'll have to do it after that...

I have one final niggle in my mental planning, the width (thickness) of the door casing. The way I calculate it I'll have 63mm of timber, 25mm of drywall (2x12.5mm) and 6mm of skim (2x3mm), which is 94mm. A standard off the shelf door casing from Wickes is 106mm (quoted nominal size of 115mm), which is 12mm wider than the wall.

So do I fit the casing & then plane down to the wall or rip the casing down to 94mm and then fit?
 
Rip it down first with a table saw, or buy from a timber merchant and see if they will do it for you. Alternatively, they might even have casings that are the correct width to match their timber stock for studding.

Make sure you dont take any off from the rebated side :p.

EDIT: Also, if you are still looking for a way to fix to the RSJ you could use Soudal Fix-All (or similar Polymer based product). This stuff is amazingly strong.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/soudal-fix-all-high-tack-adhesive-sealant-white-290ml/64585 m

Really good price at £3.50, it's usually around £5-£6 even with my trade discount at other places.
 
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Right then, work has finally commenced!

Friday we had the sparky in to replace the old fuseboard for a new consumer unit and do some rewiring. I spend a fair part of the weekend tearing down the old staircase wall, no mean feat thanks to the mix of nailed & screwed timbers, with lots of filled in screw heads. All in not too much mess made.

I left the studwork in place as a temporary handrail.



Monday morning and the timber yard deliver 40 3m lengths of framing timber.



As the hall/lounge wall will run between two ceiling timbers I pulled up some of the bedroom floor to install noggins to give me something to screw into. Sod's law that the heating pipes & cables all ran through this void but plenty of space to slip a noggin under them.



After careful removal of some skirting & coving I got the basic frame in for the first part. I was pretty careful to get it as straight & plumb as possible and I'm pretty happy with it. I had hoped to have all the studs in this bit by the end of the day as well but failing light for cutting outside and a child back from after school club stopped play.



I borrowed a chop saw from a mate which is making the job a lot quicker, even when I do mistake the 260cm mark on my tape for 250 because the 6 is scratched and I'm reading it upside down!

I've had to come into the office today but I'll get some more done tomorrow.
 
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WillyNelson said:
I borrowed a chop saw from a mate which is making the job a lot quicker, even when I do mistake the 260cm mark on my tape for 250 because the 6 is scratched and I'm reading it upside down!
Click to expand...


You can buy a Dual-Printed Blade Tape with the metric markings on each edge.
 
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