I'm planning to finish a room in the basement however on 2 of the walls, there is a drain pipe about 4ft from the floor. In order to maximize the square footage of the room, I'd like to put the frame up below and above the drain pipe. Then cover with sheet rock. The bottom frame will be easy as I can use tapcons and anchor to the floor. But for the top frame, how can I install it safely?
Framing basement wall with drain pipe
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You will need to block out to fasten the wall at both plains around the pipe to the foundation. So the bottom is attached to the floor and at the top of the bottom section it is attached to the wall. Top is the same idea and nailed to the joists. Remember to only use pressure treated lumber where wood contacts cement.
Wow thanks for the pic. That's almost identical to what I'm working with. However, the existing wall is cinder block. Can I use the same tapcos for the wall as I would for the floor? I'm not familiar with powder actuated nails, it sounds like it might be easier but I'm assuming more expensive.
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IF you use the "ramset", you'll have to either own one or rent one. Stick with the TapCons for everything do it just like the illustration and you'll be fine. for a 4" pipe I usually use a 2x6 wall and/or run a piece of strapping on the stud for extra strength. (the strapping will span the space where the drain pipe is.) then apply SR. This does away with the "L bracket"
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Nice picture and it uses metal studs which is the only good way to frame a below grade exterior wall. Use a strip of foundation still insulation (foam strip) under the metal studs to prevent condensation. Even the metal to concrete must be separated. Metal studs are much easier to work with also. Very simple to cut a metal stud to be used as the brace to the wall as your "L" bracket so you do not have to buy anything special. Use 2 X 4 studs, the 2 X 3 are too flimsy and you will have difficulty installing the drywall.
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not much. Only reason not as commonly used is that carpenters are used to wood. Wood offers no advantages on interior walls and only disadvantages. Buy them at a drywall suppler.
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It's a "crap shoot" as to what gauge studs HD will carry at any particular time. I checked some the other day and was surprised they weren't too flimsy. You will get better quality material from a drywall supply. And you can specify the gauge you want. HD is generally 25 gauge(ish). That's fine for interior, non-load bearing walls (on 16" centers). 20 gauge is better, but harder to cut with just snips. Make sure to use the correct screws also. The gauge of the metal has a lot to do with the screws stripping, as Bob mentioned, but using the wrong screw will also. Course thread drywall screws are intended for use on wood framing and fine thread for metal. If you were to go to 20 gauge, you would need self-tapping screws....
Thanks for all the help guys, this helps out a lot with the planning. I've decided to go with wood as they are almost 1/2 as cheap at my local HD as Ron mentioned and this project is on a tight budget. I'm looking into a few used Ramset Cobras so that should help speed things up. If not, I'll use the tapcos.
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