Framing 8' door with steel studs

[DanG]

Are you asking how to make structural headers with metal studs? There are several methods, here is a fairly simple one.

Take 2 studs and lay them face to face like so [ ]

Take 2 pieces of track, attach one trapping the top of the studs, the other traps the bottoms.

The wider the studs, the greater the span strength. The wall must be 3 1/2" or greater to accommodate the studs.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) [e-mail]

[Steve Manes]

Standard C-section track has little to no vertical load strength. I usually cheat and use a steel-framed door but in your case I think you need to use a heavier gauge track. I don't know the formula for computing span-to-mil but I believe that steel framing for a standard-width wood-framed door often involves a heavier gauge, deeper cross section track, like 27 mil (22 gauge). This is even more important in your situation as the header will have to carry the weight of those doors.

Track is available in even-numbered gauges up to #12.

Steve Manes Brooklyn, NY

[Beartums]

I want to frame out a 9' closet with an 8' opening for interior sliding doors. I'm quite aware of how to do this for a standard 2.5' interior doors, but this is a much wider opening with relatively heavy doors. If I were framing with wood, I'd just use a 2x8 or 2x10 and assume that would be enough, but with steel studs I'm not so sure what to do. Would a single stud/section of track be strong enough to serve as a header for the opening? Or is there some special trick that I don't know that I should try.

tia.