Photo courtesy DSi Engineering LLC
To devise the best non-structural framing solution, design professionals must thoroughly assess performance requirements and choose proper materials. However, navigating the plethora of products, suppliers, and requirements in the industry can be challenging.
Defining the components of an interior gypsum board partition may not be as simple as it seems. To provide the most cost- and resource-effective solution for non-structural framing—commonly referred to as ‘metal studs’—many performance requirements need to be evaluated for proper material selection.
Smooth, flat sheet metal has traditionally been used to create non-structural metal framing conforming to ASTM C645, Standard Specification for Nonstructural Steel Framing Members. However, metal framing suppliers have developed innovative dimpled metal products. By ‘dimpling’, the metal is work-hardened to increase the steel’s strength and thus provide better structural performance with a thinner-gage metal. This thinner metal also uses fewer natural resources than its traditional counterpart.
To learn more about cold-formed steel in various applications, check out the new, free e-book, Steel Framing. Download this latest edition in The Construction Specifier series.
