Service — Steel Framing
Interior partitions, rated party walls, shaft enclosures, soffits, and radius assemblies in light gauge steel — framed by the same company that hangs and finishes the board over it.
Light gauge steel framing is not a premium substitute for wood — it is the correct material for a specific set of interior conditions, and it is usually chosen for one of four reasons: dimensional stability, fire and sound assemblies, moisture exposure, or geometry wood cannot hold.
Lumber shrinks and moves as it dries, and in Colorado's low humidity it moves a lot. A stud that cups or twists after drywall is hung takes the finish with it, and no level of taping survives it. Steel does not care about humidity. On a wall where the client is paying for a Level 5 finish or hanging wallcovering, framing that stays flat protects the most expensive part of the scope.
| Application | Why Steel |
|---|---|
| Multi-family party walls | Fire-rated and sound-rated assemblies, staggered or double-stud with resilient channel |
| Shaft and stair enclosures | Rated assemblies with non-combustible framing |
| Soffits and bulkheads | Light, straight, easy to hang plumb at any depth |
| Curved and radius walls | Track kerfs to a radius; lumber does not |
| Basement and below-grade walls | No rot or mold substrate against foundation moisture |
| Long straight runs | Consistently flat over distances where lumber crowns |
| Furring over masonry | Thin profile, mechanically fastened, dimensionally stable |
Standard non-load-bearing partitions in 25 through 20 gauge, sized to the wall height and the finish weight it carries. Stud depth and gauge are not interchangeable choices — a tall single-story wall carrying two layers of board needs more than the minimum, and getting that wrong produces a wall that flexes when a door slams.
Party walls, corridor walls, and demising walls built to the tested assembly in your drawings — layer count, stud spacing, insulation, resilient channel, and firestopping as specified. On multi-family work the assembly is only as good as its weakest penetration, so we coordinate closely on where MEP crosses a rated wall and how it gets sealed.
Dropped soffits over cabinet runs, mechanical chases, coffers, trays, and light coves. This is where steel earns its keep in custom homes: a bulkhead framed in steel is lighter, straighter, and faster to build than the same detail in lumber, and it holds its plane when the house dries out.
Radius walls, arched openings, barrel and elliptical ceilings. Steel track kerfs cleanly to a consistent radius, which is why nearly every curved drywall assembly you have admired was framed in steel.
This is the practical reason builders bring us the framing scope. When one company frames the assembly and hangs and finishes the board over it, the argument about whose problem a wavy wall is never happens.
The framer says the wall is within tolerance. The drywaller says it is not. Both are technically right, and the general contractor pays for the difference.
We inspect our own framing knowing we have to finish over it — which is a very different standard than inspecting framing you will never see again. Layout errors, out-of-plumb runs, and missing backing get caught while they are cheap to fix, and the handoff between framing and board happens in the same schedule, often the same day, with no coordination gap between two subs.
It also compresses your schedule. One mobilization, one superintendent conversation, one set of change orders, one company answering for the wall from stud to finish coat.
Questions
The common interior range — 25 gauge through 20 gauge, in the standard depths from 1-5/8″ through 6″ — selected off the wall height, the assembly, and the finish weight it has to carry.
Gauge is not a place to economize by default. A tall wall carrying two layers of board, or a wall that will take a Level 5 finish, is worth the heavier stud. We size it off your drawings and tell you when the spec is lighter than the condition warrants.
Yes. We build to the tested assembly in your drawings — layer count, stud spacing and gauge, insulation, resilient channel or clip-and-hat where specified, and firestopping at penetrations.
The detail that most often undermines a rated wall is not the framing, it is what happens after: an unsealed MEP penetration or a field-cut stud. Because we also hang and finish the board, we are in a position to catch those before they get covered up.
Yes, and steel is the right material for it. Track kerfs to a clean consistent radius in a way lumber cannot, which is why most curved drywall assemblies are steel-framed.
We frame arched openings, radius walls, barrel and elliptical ceilings, coffers, trays, and light coves — then hang and finish them, so the framing radius and the finished radius are the same company's responsibility.
That is our preference, and it is why most builders send us the framing scope in the first place. One contract from stud to finish coat eliminates the most expensive argument on an interior job — whether a wavy wall is a framing problem or a finishing problem.
It also means one mobilization, one point of contact, and no dead time waiting for a second sub to schedule the handoff.
Yes, and we want that list as early as possible. Grab bars, wall-hung vanities, cabinet runs, TV mounts, closet systems, handrails, floating shelves, and headboard walls all need backing set before board.
We take it off your plans and interior elevations during pre-construction. Backing added after drywall means cutting open a finished wall — on a Level 5 or wallcovered wall, that repair costs several times what the blocking would have.
Request a Bid
Send framing plans, the assembly schedule, and your backing requirements. We will bid the framing and the drywall together so a single company answers for the finished wall.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 720.773.1793 or email estimates@strongfinishdrywall.com.
Tell Us About the Project