They will most often be found in wall bracing or shear walls. Straps are 2вЂќ to 12вЂќ-wide thin sheets of steel used for tension loads. L-headers are available in a wide variety of dimensions. They span across openings to help transfer the load over a door or window onto jamb studs. This piece of CFS is a large angle, or L-shaped, and is positioned on top of the wall top track to act as a simple header. The most common furring channel sizes are 7/8вЂќ and 1-1/2вЂќ. This refers to a вЂњhat-channelвЂќ type of CFS that is often applied to the face of a wall or bottom of a ceiling in order to provide a wedge or spacing element (otherwise known as furring) to the sheathing. The most common sizes are 3/4вЂќ, 1-1/2вЂќ and 2вЂќ. They are sometimes referred as cold-rolled channel or CRC. This is a smaller U-shaped product that goes through the web knockout of each stud for bracing or will often be used to support ceiling framing with hanger wire. The most common sizes are the same as studs. These products are U-shaped and do not have a lip return to allow the stud to seat inside the track. TrackДЄ track section will often cap the bottom and top of a steel stud wall. The most common sizes are6вЂќ and a 35/8вЂќ wide studs. These are typically used as a vertical element in the framing of a wall. With a few quick folds, you have 0.043 inches, roughly 18-gaДЄ stud refers to cold-formed steel that has been formed into a C-shape with a lip return. A dime is 0.053 inches thick, roughly 16-ga.A quarter is 0.069 inches thick, roughly 14-ga.When all else fails, remember these common thickness reference materials that you might have in your pocket: It is best to make measurements at the stud knockouts and away from rolled edges. Still, they can get you close enough to allow you to make a good judgment about the thickness. Unfortunately, most of these gauges are for sheet metal thicknesses and not for cold-formed structural steel. There are several metal thickness gauges available online. Take multiple measurements to gain confidence that you have accurately determined the thickness. Inside micrometers are hard to use with the rounded, sheared edges of cold-formed steel, making reliable measurements difficult.

We recommend using a C-shaped outside micrometer.

If no identifying marks are visible, one can use a micrometer to measure the material thickness. For example, green paint indicates 16-ga (54 mils) and yellow paint indicates 18-ga (43 mils). In those cases, inspectors can look for paint markings.Д«efore leaving the factory, ends of steel studs and tracks are painted with color markings to indicate thicknesses. However, some studs are cut or positioned in a fashion that makes reading these labels difficult. Finally, it shows the steel strength to be 50 ksi. This tells you the stud is 6 inches wide with a 1-5/8 inch (1.62 inch) flange and is 16-ga (54 mils) thick. For instance, ClarkDietrich labels 6-inch, 16-gauge studs with CD600S162-54 50 KSI. Metal stud manufacturers are required to stamp the stud size and gauge on each product.

The Most Common CFMF Sizes & Shapes Before you get started, hereвЂ™s a link to our most popular presentation on bidding projects and identifying costly details. WeвЂ™ll also talk about what to do if no identifying marks are visible - plus, weвЂ™ll provide you with the most common cold-formed steel metal framing (CFMF) sizes and shapes. In this guide, learn how read the printed code, which is stamped by the manufacturer on each stud, and how you can identify thickness just by the color painted on the end of steel studs and tracks. Some experienced tradespeople can tell the difference between standard thicknesses by feel alone, but thankfully there are many ways to easily identify CFS thickness - including by color. When performing inspections of cold-formed steel framing, one of the most obvious aspects to check is the material thickness (mils or gauge).

Standard for cold formed steel framing