Steel beams

[Chris Damm]

It seems to me that you do not want to carry weight on this wall because there is probably no footer below it.

What are you planning to hang from a wall that a concrete floor wouldn't hold?

[Larry Browning]

I wouldn't over think this too much. This new wall is not load bearing, the beam is already doing that job. If he is going to hang cabinets on this wall it just needs to have something in place to prevent the wall from moving sideways away from under the beam. It seems to me the best and simplest way is to drill a few holes in the beam and bolt a top plate in place. You would need to counter sink the bolt holes in the plate. Then just build the wall on the floor like normal, and nail it to the top plate like any other wall. Easy peasy. What am I missing?

[Stan Krupowies]

Drilling the flange and bolting the top plate to the steel beam worked fine for me, when I built my basement shop 2 years ago.

Attachment 210459

Attachment 210460

Tim

Did you just use a regular drill and bits or anything special? I would think if there was to be any weakening of the flange the stud wall underneath would more than make up for it.

[Stephen Cherry]

What are you planning to hang from a wall that a concrete floor wouldn't hold?

I'm certainly not an expert, but I did read somewhere a while back that you want to be careful that basement walls do not support the house weight. This could happen thorugh settling, or through hammering vertical studs into place through construction, or a combination of both.

[ben searight]

I wouldn't over think this too much. This new wall is not load bearing, the beam is already doing that job. If he is going to hang cabinets on this wall it just needs to have something in place to prevent the wall from moving sideways away from under the beam. It seems to me the best and simplest way is to drill a few holes in the beam and bolt a top plate in place. You would need to counter sink the bolt holes in the plate. Then just build the wall on the floor like normal, and nail it to the top plate like any other wall. Easy peasy. What am I missing?

Agreed. You won't even need that many bolts there's really not much side load from the cabinets.

[Tom Clark FL]

I just finished building out the inside of a new steel building, adding interior walls over the insulation, and dividing it into three rooms. All in all there were 260 feet of walls built. I clamped 2x4s to the steel beams with C-clamps and then drilled them thru with 1/4" holes just like your idea. Worked great! Just remember when drilling the steel to keep the rpms down on your drill. If you try to drill a 1/4" hole at 1000 rpm the drill will overheat and dull very quickly. The walls were covered with OSB. Horribly dark until painted white - then super solid.

[Larry Browning]

I'm certainly not an expert, but I did read somewhere a while back that you want to be careful that basement walls do not support the house weight. This could happen thorugh settling, or through hammering vertical studs into place through construction, or a combination of both.

If you are worried about that then just leave a inch or so gap between the top plate and the wall. Drive your nails thru the wall top plate and into the one bolted on the beam. But if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it. That steel beam will do it's job. But I'm no expert. My advice is worth what ya paid for it.

[Tim Janssen]

I used regular (good quality of course) drill bits and a regular drill. In wouldn't worry about the flange. The holes can be well spaced, I don't remember but I believe I drilled maybe 6 holes for 30ft of wall.

Tim

[Greg Cuetara]

I would be a bit weary about installing studs right up to and bolting to a steel beam. Have you thought about using metal studs? You can then ramset a c stud to the floor then you can also ramset a c stud to the steel beam. Install your metal studs vertically and do not solidly attach the top of the studs to the top c stud. This will allow the steel beam to deflect down without imparting any additional load on the wall or the floor, which it probably has not been designed for. This is how it is done in commercial construction to allow for movement of all parts.
If you are really concerned you should seek out a Professional Engineer in your area to come take a look and give you advice on your specific condtions.
Greg

[ben searight]

I would be a bit weary about installing studs right up to and bolting to a steel beam. Have you thought about using metal studs? You can then ramset a c stud to the floor then you can also ramset a c stud to the steel beam. Install your metal studs vertically and do not solidly attach the top of the studs to the top c stud. This will allow the steel beam to deflect down without imparting any additional load on the wall or the floor, which it probably has not been designed for. This is how it is done in commercial construction to allow for movement of all parts.
If you are really concerned you should seek out a Professional Engineer in your area to come take a look and give you advice on your specific condtions.
Greg

Unless you are adding a tremendous amount of live load to your living space, or the exterior walls of you basement are actively settling, (in either case you probably have bigger problems than the wall in your basement) you have nothing to worry about.

Don't force the studs into place, light tap with claw hammer is OK, don't use a sledge.
Don't park a car in your living room.

[Stan Krupowies]

Don't park a car in your living room.

Dang, I guess I'll have to move it to the garage now!