Frame around duct work and beam

svaic00

Hello,

I am wondering what would be the best way to frame around the ductwork and beam that I have in my basement. The first picture is a photo showing the ductwork and beam. In the middle of the two, there are copper lines, conduits, and a 4" main house sewer drain. Photo two shows a few sketches, the first sketch is calling everything out with dimensions, sketch two is showing approximately what I would like to do, sketch 3 is left blank in case you wanted to make your own sketch of what I should/could do. Edge of beam to edge of duct is about 3'-7".

Is using ripped 2x4's with 1/2" plywood ok, or should I got with a mini 2x4 wall everywhere? I know its non structural, it only has to support the weight of the drywall. I used the 2x4 wall on the side of the duct to help give it rigidity, since it will be spanning a farther distance.

With the way I show it now, the drywall has to span 2+ feet, I am worried the drywall would sag in that area. Can I use steel studs, are there products out there to help with this scenario, to help keep head room loss to a minimum?

I am trying to keep the most headroom I can. Right now, from floor to bottom of beam is 6'-7". If i put the drywall right underneath the beam, that would lose me about another 1/2". But that means the drywall would be right underneath the ductwork too then. The ductwork is only 1/2" higher up then the bottom of beam. Notice as the ductwork gets further down the line, it gets smaller, that part will be easy to frame around, because I can run horizontal 2x4's to help support the drywall. If I want to do this by the bigger trunk, i lose even more headroom.

Any info or advice would be great.

Thanks,
Steve

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kaschmid3

No u can frame with 2x4 n plywood or even bridging ( ferring strips) which r about 1in thick

12penny

Metal studs and hat track. Light, easy and strong.

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svaic00

What size metal stud are you using?
Are the metal studs used for the long runs along the length of the duct and beam, top and bottom, and then also the mini verticals?
Is the hat track the horizontal members that span across the duct and beam?
How far are you spanning with the hat track, and what spaces do you put them, 16" centers?

Thanks,
Steve

12penny

On this job theyre 3 5/8" but you could go down to 2 5/8" if you want to.

Top and bottom "plates" are wall channel and come in 10' lengths.

Yep. Viewed from the end it looks like a hat.

16" centers. At spots on this job, I had 10' wide soffits. I build the soffit first. If its really wide I screw a length of wall channel, every 3' or 4', to the top of the hat track. Then use studs, cut to length and screwed to the wall channel and then to a floor joist to hold up the hat track and take out any bow.