Cold Form Stud Wall Design

[Bdon88]

I am on my first project and it is the design of a small building using Cold Form Stud Walls. I have zero experience in cold form and this is my first design project that isn't a foundation. This might seem like a bad question but how do I got about picking the correct stud section for a load bearing wall?

My thought process is, find all the loads for the roof then find load on roof framing (k joists) then apply their load to the wall as point loads. From this, could I find the load being applied to the wall then I would be able to pick the right stud section?

Any advise is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Agent666]

Yeah your thought process sounds fine, you'll also need to consider load cases with any lateral loads like wind.

Often this sort of thing is tabulated by manufacturers that will give you the max span and spacing of stud sizes.

 

[CURVEB]

The top track of your stud wall may not be able to support the reaction from a K joist. Often we align the joists directly over the stud, or you can add a steel member at the top of the wall, like an HSS6x2, turned flat to distribute the load between studs.

 

[XR250]

As CURVE8 stated, use a flatwise HSS member on the top track. Sometimes this has enough ass to act as a header over small openings - even more so if you use HSS6x4. Can save a lot of labor. Be careful where they splice it, however.
There is free software you can download - AISIWIN8 which will analyze the studs

 

[KootK]

Is your project in the US?

You need some resources to get you started in this space. I would start with:

SSMA catalog for basic availability and load tables: Link

CFSEI tech notes: Link. These thing rock for practical design, including the design of the load distribution members that others have mentioned. Some aggressive googling will actually net you many of these for free.

AISI CFS Steel Framing Design Guide: https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1160&context=ccfss-aisi-spec]Link[/url]. The basics of how this stuff works and is viewed by insiders.

Like everything in structural engineering, knowing the anticipated details is key. Here they are: Link




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[Ron]

Pay attention to the cladding that will be on the walls. If stucco or brick, pay close attention to deflection. Look also at the stiffness of wall features relative to the wall....windows and doors are reinforce beyond the wall, thus you will have differential deflection between the wall framing and the window framing....look at the differential stiffness.


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[Bdon88]

Thank you everyone for the information, the project is in the US.