Cost Savings

basement1

Ok, about to start a basement finish (DIY). (Well, my husband is.

3200 square feet. Exterior basement walls are superior walls (nailer built into concrete studs) and are almost 9 feet high.
Question is on the interior stud walls.

2 by 4 by 10 foot is $3.38 each here in Michigan
2 by 4 by 7 feet id $1.33

Using 7 footers instead of 10 footers would save us about 50% IF

We build a short 20 inch wall, bottom plate, top plate, 16 oc, etc. Then we nail a top plate to the floor joists above and toe nail in 7 foot stids between the 20 inch wall and the top plate on the ceiling.

If we use 10 foot studs, a 10 foot wide wall costs $37.18.
If we use the 'wall on wall' method with 7 foot studs, the cost would be $19.95 plus extra nails.

(time does not matter, i won't let him do anything else anyway )

See any problems with codes or practical problems, electrical will be above 20inches anyway.

Scuba_Dave

I would never build a small wall then another wall on top
Just not the right way to do it

Willie T

Your $19.95 seems to neglect to take into consideration the additional $5 or so for the third top plate.

But that matters little. As Dave said, this is not an acceptable way to construct a solid wall. Most building departments would likely reject it. It creates what is referred to as an artificial and unnecessarily imposed moment of inertia that, in effect, weakens the structure of the wall.

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Willie T

bjbatlanta

Do the job correctly and buy the 10' studs.....

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tpolk

buy 9' pre cuts= 104-5/8" they be cheaper than 10' and less waste. doubt box store has would need real lumber store

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bjbatlanta

Tplok is correct, sorry I missed that. Was thinking 10' walls. HD and Lowes here have pre-cut 9' studs. If not in your area, check out the lumber yards.

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Termite

Although there's no code-based reason to reject a wall on top of another wall (assuming all of the walls are non-load-bearing), I wouldn't suggest it. If the walls are bearing it is going to be a problem because it creates what is called a hinge wall, therefore full-height studs are required.

Buy 9' precut studs that are 104-5/8". Plan on two top plates if you're sheetrocking the ceiling. One top plate and you're screwed when you try to hang sheetrock to the walls after hanging the ceiling.

You're mighty early in the remodeling process to be evaluating materials costs as hard as you are. Have you figured in tapcons to anchor the bottom plate? Additional materials for fireblocking? Drill bits for the tapcons? Etc...........