I’m not a builder, just a visitor from Cooks Talk with a question I’m sure you folks would know the answer to.
How does one hang heavy stuff (e.g. cabinets, bookshelves, pot racks) from walls and ceiling in a steel stud + drywall construction? Under woodframe construction I would search from the wood studs using a stud finder, and use woodscrews to attach the heavy object to the studs. I’m not sure how one finds steel studs (though I have not tried my old stud finder to see if it would work for steel too). More importantly, I don’t know what to do with the steel studs once I find them, since I’m sure anything like woodscrews would not work.
The ceiling poses a special problem. I want to hang a pot rack from the kitchen ceiling. However this ceiling hangs about 4 inches below the ceilings in the rest of the apartment, and there are recessed lighting fixtures stuck into it. All of this suggests to me that the kitchen ceiling is hanging a few inches below the bottom of whatever structural support I’d want to hang something from. If this is the case, what would be the procedure for hanging this pot rack? Rip out part of the ceiling, hang the rack from some sound structural element (a steel beam?), and somehow patch up the ceiling around it?
As you can gather from my questions, I am completely clueless. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Jill
P.S. My e-mail address is unreliable since it tends to fill up with spam; please post replies.
Replies
Jill, yes, a stud finder will find metal studs, as will a magnet. Typically, if you know beforehand where you need to hang cabinets, you install some flat metal sheet across the metal studs to provide backing for the cabinets. I'm assuming this is existing construction, so that's not an option without cutting holes. Assuming you find metal studs where you need to secure your cabinets, you can hand them as you would with wood studs- screw into the metal stud using sheetmetal screws instead of wood screws.
The ceiling presents a different issue- some exploratory work may be in order. The drywall may have been hung on a Rigid-X system, which is basically a suspended ceiling grid with wider flanges, used to construct drywall ceilings under concrete structures, etc. If you can find the support structure, you'll be able to fasten the rack.
Good luck,
Bob
Thanks, Bob. I tried to use a magnet; it did stick to the wall at the corners, but nowhere else. This is suprising to me, since I checked on long walls (I can't imagine there are no studs in those walls)...
I'll have to try the stud finder next (if I can find it--I thought I'd never need it again). Actually, my stud finder was never very good--maybe I should get a new one. Is there one you'd recommend?
Thanks in advance,
Jill
a 4 penny finish nail makes a great stud finder... then just spackle the little holes when you're done..
once you have the studs located you can use screws made for steel studs to fasten things to the wall...Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
magnet; it did stick to the wall at the corners, but nowhere else Sounds like a weak maget...it stuck to the metal corner bead but wasn't strong enough to reach through the gwb. Try a strronger magnet, or a stud finder advertised for metal studs. I have seen one in HD/Lowes that claims to find pipes in the walls.
Do it right, or do it twice.
tape a string to the end of a cow magnet
I want to thank you all for your kind help. Now I have many ideas to work with.
Jill
a cow magnet They have magnets that detect cows? How interesting.
Do it right, or do it twice.
must be similar to the old ...
"BS Detector"
my Dad was always talking about .....
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Cow magnets are a wonderful thing. Check your local Fleet Farm or other farm-related big-box dealer.
(For the record, Cow magnets are swallowed by the cow and are used to 'collect and contain' any metal the cow has eaten to reduce any chances of rupturing their digestive system).
Now I have a question...it would seem to me that a wood screw screwed into a solid wood stud has a LOT more surface area to grip to than a sheet metal screw screwed into the flange of a metal stud. Is that true? Or would they have the same 'gripping' power?
No doubt about it, but sheet rock screws aren't very stressed. Even in a steel stud, the screw is more likely to fail by pulling through the the sheet rock than by pulling out of the stud. The fastener schedule for sheetrock has more to do with pulling it up flat to the framing. That takes way more screws than would be needed to bear the load. Just a few screws will hold a 4x8 sheet up on the ceiling, but it wouldn't be flat, or flush with adjacent sheets, etc.
the ceilings in the rest of the apartment,
Do you own this apartment or are you renting? If you are renting and you attach things to the walls permanently in some states become the property of the owners of the building. plus you lose your damage deposit.
If you are installing cabinets cut out strips of drywall near the top and bottom of the cabinet and install strips of plywood (fire treated if required) that are the same thickness as the drywall using sheet metal screws. You can then use wood screws to attach the cabinets. For the pot rack you will need to cut some holes that allow you to drill into the slab above and an install expansion anchors and thread rod. You can then hang the pot rack from the threaded rod.