Soffit question


  #1  
Old 12-10-05, 06:25 AM
mike1967
Visiting Guest
Posts: n/a
Soffit question

I need to enclose my ductwork and since I have several ducts to enclose I decided to go with wood (for speed, since I have a finish nailer-16ga)
I know 2x2s are hardly ever straight, so I'm going to go with 2x3 or 2x4s, as most of the ducts are 3-4 feet across.
My question is if I build 2x4 'ladders' to go up on each side, do I toe-nail the studs that are going to span in between? I would prefer to directly nail them but a width of stud is to much for a 2 1/2" nail.
Or should I turn the studs for the 'ladders' so they vertical, cut my short pieces to fit inside of these, then I could directly nail my studs spanning across, since I would only be going through the 1 1/2" dimention of the stud.
The problem with the second way is that the drywall for the sides of the ducts would only be supported on the top and bottom as the studs in between are going to be on the inside(for easy nailing)

I hope I made this as clear as possible, any help would be great as I need to get this figured out before I continue...Thanks
 
  #2  
Old 12-11-05, 06:59 AM
Doug Aleshire's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 4,455
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
mike1967,

Take a look at these,

http://dougaphs.smugmug.com/gallery/458998/1

Hope this helps!
 
  #3  
Old 12-11-05, 07:53 AM
mike1967
Visiting Guest
Posts: n/a
Hey thanks Doug! Im starting to think about using metal instead because I have some long runs and I want them to be straight. Would the correct way be to use the 'angle' channel and make the short ladders on the ground, screw them to the joists on each side, then span across? For the metal going across (4 feet in my case) would it be better to lay them flat or on their side?? Im thinking on the side would be stronger...

Do you think the metal angle channel could be used with wood 2x2 pieces for the side and 2x3 or 2x4s going across? That way the metal would keep ya straight for long runs and you would have the strength of wood. Or would the angle bend/twist with the added weight of wood?! Thanks!!
 
  #4  
Old 12-11-05, 08:10 AM
Doug Aleshire's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 4,455
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
mike1967,

You're very welcome. Sometimes its just easier to show a picture.

Regardless how you do it, you will have to make adjustments to ensure that things are straight and plumb.

Depending on your experience, you should do this the easiest way possible for you. An extra pair of hands is a must, for sure.

You should assess how you can conserve head room - laying them down flat would be best (a 4 ft span is not that bad - longer would be).

You can twist anything, wood or steel. It is again how you do your layout. As you can tell by the pictures, there are different ways to do it.

It's your choice and which way will be cheaper in cost.

Hope this helps!
 
  #5  
Old 12-21-05, 02:50 PM
K
Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 32
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I have been debating this for some time myself. I think the route I'm going to take is to fasten either a 2x4 or 2x2 across the floor joists above and then drop the sides down with OSB. Then I'll connect the 2 OSB sides with 2x4's on the underbelly.

The big reason I think I'll do it this way is to minimize the variation with the "ladders" being square. This will almost box it in except for the bottom and I'll just sheetrock onto the OSB. This from what I hear makes it damn strong too. My soffits from side to side will span a little over 4 feet so I need all the strength I can get!!
 
  #6  
Old 12-21-05, 06:12 PM
S
Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 147
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Klutch,

Let me know how it turns out. I got a couple more supply extensions to hook up, then will begin my soffit framing. My next door neighbor is building his house. Him and I went through it this past weekend. His builder is finishing his basement. For his soffit, the builder ordered those engineered joists that are a combination of some sort of OSB, sandwiched by solid wood. The profile kinda resembles an I-beam. Anyway, they can special order those in any length. The builder is using a couple of 40 footers, toe-nailed to the ceiling joists, and they cover the side of the ducts perfectly and continuously. What a way to go.
 
  #7  
Old 12-21-05, 09:49 PM
mike1967
Visiting Guest
Posts: n/a
Hey all, well, this is what I did. I went with metal. Thanks to Dougs excellent work as a reference, I used the metal 90 degree channel screwed to the joists(be aware your joist are not all level which makes the flexible metal nice)
Then I hung my laser(black and decker crossfire 99 bucks at HD) in the corner at the level I needed to clear my ducts. Then after marking 16s" on center on my 90 degree channel, I cut pieces(metal 2x2s) in to the general drop dimension which for me was about a foot. Then held up the pieces, one at time on my marks, adjusted them to where the laser beam was just hitting the bottom, and screwed them into that top angle channel.
When I was done doing this with each side, I 'capped' the bottoms of these pieces with another piece of angle channel, then simply bridged across with the metal 2x2s at 16 o.c.
Like I said, Dougs(the moderator here) pics are worth a thousand words and they are great to study. I like the metal because one, its straight, and two, its easy to work with by yourself because everything is very light. Materials for 100 feet of duct 4 feet wide came to about 150.00. So not to bad. The drawback is you have to screw everything together. But it goes quick once ya get the hang of it. My basement wall framing is mostly all metal, so I wanted to kinda stick with the theme Ill post pics once Im all done. Good luck!
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: