Drywall Over Steel Basement Reinforcement Studs

[Rob Kiz]

Greetings,

I just had my basement walls reinforced with steel beams installed every 36 inches on average. I had to tear the drywall down for the finished portion of the basement and am now trying to figure out the best way to redo the drywall.

I see two options: One would involve a combination of glueing the drywall directly to the metal studs and glueing several 2x4's horizontally between each pair of studs to screw the drywall to.

The other option would be to build small rectangular frames out of

2x4's and install them between the metal studs. This would be difficult since there are few floor joists to attach to above since that is where the metal studs are attached. Also, the bottom of the metal studs are flanged and I'd have to work around this.

Would the glue idea work? Is there another way?

Thanks in advance for your advice/opinions,

Rob

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Rob Kiz" wrote

Please clarify something. Are the steel beams and metal studs the same thing or different?

If different, there are screws made for hanging drywall on metal studs. They are not made for steel beams that are 1/4" or thicker. Use glue and put a metal or wood stud between them to shorten the span.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmm, Sounds like you are refering to metal studs not beam? 36" OC spacing is odd? If it is indeed stud you can directly screw down drywall onto the metal stud.

[Rob Kiz]

I am referring to engineered steel beams installed to reinforce a basement wall that is bulging, and not simply metal studs. Sorry for not being clear on this.

[Rob Kiz]

Sorry I wasn't clear. These are not metal studs that would be spaced at 16" intervals. I am referring to engineered steel beams used to reinforce a bulging basement wall.

[mm]

I've often wondered why more basement walls don't bulge.

Not enough experience to help you with your question, however.

[Evan]

Ok, so you had engineered steel support beams installed to "fix" a bulging basement wall of some kind, concrete or CMU?

So the beams stick out from the inside face of the wall now...

The answer is easy... You need to build a new wall which will conceal the steel beams... You mention that some steel studs were installed also? A picture would be worth a thousand words here...

Basically you need to build a new wall header and footer included that will hide the new steel beams which have become the new status quo of your bulging wall...

Sure this will lose a little bit of space out of the room, but you are going to need to address things like having room for insulating the wall, electrical boxes, electrical wires and such that gluing drywall to things won't let you easily deal with... Besides if you are "gluing" the sheetrock to the structure, how are you dealing with installing a vapor barrier?

~~ Evan

[Joe]

Go down to City Hall and find out what code requirements you have to meet. A knowledgeable building inspector can be a real help, even money saver. Good luck.

Joe

[benick]

Ok, so you had engineered steel support beams installed to "fix" a bulging basement wall of some kind, concrete or CMU?

So the beams stick out from the inside face of the wall now...

The answer is easy... You need to build a new wall which will conceal the steel beams... You mention that some steel studs were installed also? A picture would be worth a thousand words here...

Basically you need to build a new wall header and footer included that will hide the new steel beams which have become the new status quo of your bulging wall...

Sure this will lose a little bit of space out of the room, but you are going to need to address things like having room for insulating the wall, electrical boxes, electrical wires and such that gluing drywall to things won't let you easily deal with... Besides if you are "gluing" the sheetrock to the structure, how are you dealing with installing a vapor barrier?

~~ Evan

Ditto...Frame something with 2X4's to conceal them...BTDT many times to conceal lolly columes , duct work , ect. in basements...HTH...

[aemeijers]

I'd give up on having a finished basement, and just shoot the whole mess with white paint, so I can see when the leaks and bulges return. Not a fan of bandaid fixes like that, although I realize sometimes they are the only cost-effective solution, especially if yard is heavily landscaped. Unless groundwater problem was fixed at the same time, there WILL be future problems. At most, I would put a panelized faux wall in front of it, so demo will be easier next time. If you must have outlets, feed from the top, with a J-box in ceiling in front of the wall, to make disconnects painless.

[jw]

Some people just can not comprehend what they read.....

Why not just leave the beams exposed and put the sheetrock in between. You would have a new look. Paint them if you dont like the color. Why does everyone want boring flat walls anyhow. Another option would be to just hang some sort of drapes across the walls. That way, if water pours in from the cracked bulging walls, you dont have to rip out sheetrock, just hang the drapes on a washline and let them dry.

[Reno]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

'jw' makes a lot of sense for two reasons. First, reinforcing doesn't develope full strength unless and until it is fully loaded which may not occur right away. Also the loads may vary with time. Reinforcing 'stretches' slightly under load due to elastic action. Drywall is a rigid material and will not perform well at all if fastened onto reinforcing that expands and shrinks again over time. You may be battling cracks that re-occur constantly. Small cracks, if the reinforcing is strong enough, but annoying. If you must use drywall then don't fasten it to the reinforcing. Install a stud wall that is not fastened to the reinforcing and fasten drywall normally to that. Remember to use a flexible connection to the ceiling - don't nail it solidly to the underside of joists.

Second, moisture proofing a basement is almost impossible no matter how much money you spend. Water may not pour in if you have done a good job of water-proofing but there is likely to be some dampness. Drywall is the worst material to use if there is any degree of dampness at all. Either use something else or use 'jw's' suggestion of working between the reinforcing. Try to design a system where future moisture damage is easiest to repair. A sectional approach is a good idea. Perhaps use a decorative strip every few studs that hides a break in the drywall. That way a future repair would only have to remove and replace a few sections.

If the water-proofing is a good job it may perform well if you add a dehumidifier to the basement. That may be enough to deal with a small amount of dampness. Get one with an automatic drain, either a pump type or a gravity overflow. That should make it close to install and forget.

[Scott53051]

replying to Rob Kiz, Scott53051 wrote: I just found this thread as I was looking for something else but since we all are home self-quarantining, I have the time. I cannot believe people are so clueless on what you were trying to ask and then chime in with inane comments. Hang a waistline and drapes? Are you kidding? Why would you even take the time to write? I know this thread is ten years old but if anyone else is looking for an answer, the correct way would be to either: build a new wall outside of the beam thickness in which you will lose an additional approx. 4" (plus the 5"-6" beams) or purchase some 2"x6" and build frames inside the beam columns using treated lumber for sill plate and make sure to attache top piece to joists. It is a more tedious but will save you some room. Sorry that some people just "don't get it" but I'm sure some of them mean well...just hope they don't do their own home projects!