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What is a Wall Stud? Everything You Need to Know

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7th Dec 2022 –

So, you know what a stud wall is, but what about the wall studs themselves? Effectively, the wall stud is a long, thin piece of timber or metal that forms the main structural support for the frame of your stud wall.

The wall studs form the vertical upright portion of a wall frame. The top and sole plates of the frame are fitted to the floor and ceiling and the wall studs are added, evenly spaced along the length of the wall.

There are two main types of wall studs commonly used in the construction of partition walls – timber and metal. Each has its different advantages:

Timber wall studs: Timber is quite cost-effective and also versatile, you can easily saw and shape timber to fit any space.
Metal wall studs: Metal studs are a bit more stable than timber studs, although not much, they are also a non-combustible material.

Both types of wall studs are reliable building materials – capable of delivering a high-quality result. Of course, there are also a few disadvantages to using either timber or metal:

Drawbacks of timber studs: Timber is not the best option for fire protection, it also creates a large amount of mess.
Drawbacks of metal studs: Metal studs can be complicated to fix, especially as metal frames are a bit more intricate.

When you build a stud wall, the type of wall studs you choose will depend on the situation. Timber framing is good for partition walls in the home and steel studs are ideal for more commercial settings.

While timber studs are more or less uniform in their appearance, metal studs have a few different shapes – such as a C-stud (shaped like the letter C) or an I-stud (shaped like the letter I).

What is the Right Wall Stud Spacing?

The standard spacing for a wall stud is every 400mm or 600mm (which is every 16 inches or 24 inches) on the centre of the wall stud.

What is the Right Wall Stud Width?

Wall studs are usually around 89 mm in width. This width is sufficient to support the weight of both metal and timber frames.

What is the Average Wall Stud Length?

A pre-cut stud is usually 2300mm or 2600mm, but can come in lengths up to 5000mm.

What is the Right Wall Stud Height?

The stud height is usually the ceiling height. In terms of the length of each piece of timber (or metal) studs are usually 2300mm 2600mm.

When installing a wall stud, measuring and cutting the timber or metal is necessary to make sure that each part of the wall frame is fully secured to the floor and ceiling.

How Thick is a Wall Stud?

The thicknesses of the studs in a wall are typically 75mm or 100mm. This is quite thin and can make it difficult to hang pictures, television mounts and other wall decorations that might require extra support. In this case, you may need a stud finder – a handy tool that locates studs behind the plasterboards.

In Summary

A wall stud is an important part of a partitioned wall’s structure, forming the vertical upright support for the wall frame. The type of wall studs used in construction includes timber and metal varieties, which can both provide enough support. Wall studs are spaced 400mm or 600mm apart.

The Ultimate Guide for Plasterboard Fixings

How to Build a Stud Wall

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Categories: Plaster & Plasterboard

Posted On: 7 December 2022

Posted By: Jess Johal

How thin can a stud wall be?

Studwork / By Carl

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Stud walls are typically non load bearing partitions within a property. There main purpose is to divide rooms from one another. Installing stud walls is quicker and more affordable compared with solid walls.

They also offer several other advantages, such as:

A convenient space for insulation
Services can easily be ran through the wall
Easy to board and plaster
Convenient for fixing skirting, architrave, etc.

As a general rule, stud walls are built using 75mm x 50mm (3x2inch) timbers. The smallest planed size would usually be CLS, which has a thickness of 63mm.

Add to this, the thinnest plasterboard at 9.5mm and you would have a wall that is 82mm. This assumes that both sides are boarded. If only one side was boarded, this would be 72.5mm.

Building regulations don’t have an absolute minimum thickness for stud walls. However, there are several things you should take into consideration:

How your wall is fixed
The thickness of plasterboard
Wall height from floor to ceiling.
And the overall size of the wall

To give an example, let’s assume your ceilings are quite high at 3m. If you built a wall using CLS, at 38mm x 63mm, then combine this with a thin 9.5mm plasterboard. This would not be adequate, and the result would be a very flimsy wall, with a lot of movement.

A more appropriate wall in this situation, would use thicker studs, such as 100mm x 50mm (4x2inch). You could also fit a 12.5mm plasterboard. The result would be a much sturdier wall that is fit for purpose.

Real life example where I built a thin stud wall

The opposite can also be true.

This is an example where I made a thinner stud wall on a personal project.

The timber I used was 50mm x 50mm sawn ungraded timber. The job I used it for, was the internal walls of a brick shed, which I converted into an office.

The space was originally an outdoor toilet and a bin store/coal shed. Once I removed a dividing wall and stripped everything else out, I was left with a small space, measuring roughly 2. 5m x 2m. It also had a low ceiling height of just over 2m.

Because this was a small space, I wanted to preserve as much of it as possible. At the same time I wanted to add internal insulation, to make the office comfortable year-round.

At this point I had a couple of options:

Build internal stud walls and fill with insulation
Install insulated plasterboards

The latter was more expensive and would require either dot and dab or timber lats on the walls. Personally, this seemed like more money and more work, so I decided on the studwork.

However, I wanted to reduce costs and I wanted to maximise space. Because the ceiling was low. I decided I could save money by using sawn 2×2.

This was considerably cheaper than CLS. However the quality was much lower. Therefore I went to the timber merchants and manually selected each piece of timber by hand. This ensured I had the straightest, best quality lengths available.

Had these been delivered, I am confident the quality would have been shocking.

I finished the walls with 12.5mm plasterboards and the finished walls are solid. They literally have zero flex when you push them.

So as you can see context is very important.

Stud wall size considerations

Above I gave a hypothetical example, with high ceilings. I also gave a real-life example, with a personal project, where ceilings were low, and the walls were small.

Bearing these examples in mind, I think there are several considerations when you decide how thin a stud wall can be. These include:

Ceiling height – In general, the higher the ceiling, the thicker timber you will require. If you use thin timber on a high ceiling, the structure will be very weak and will suffer from large amounts of movement. For standard ceiling height, a relatively thin CLS will be more than adequate.
The size and span of the wall – A small wall covering 2 meters or less, will be far less prone to movement. This could mean you can use even thinner timber than a planed CLS. Alternatively, a long wall spanning an entire room or a hallway, would generally require more standard sized timbers. If ceilings were also high, you might want to go thicker.
Plasterboard thickness – The plasterboard you opt for, will affect the rigidity of the stud wall. Standard sizes are generally 9.5mm, 12.5mm and 15mm.
What services need to run in the wall – If you are running pipes wires and any other important services, this could affect the thickness of your wall.

Conclusion

In the vast majority of cases, a sawn or planed 3×2 timber will be your best option for a thin stud wall. Generally, the thinnest timber in these dimensions, would be a planed product, such as CLS.

3×2 CLS has finished dimensions of 38mm x 63mm. Once boarded, this creates a relatively thin stud wall.

As I demonstrated above. There are certain cases where you could go thinner. However, this swill only be suitable over smaller surfaces. If the span and height is too much, the wall will not be very sturdy using thinner timbers.

Also, where thinner timber is used, you can strengthen with thicker plasterboard. Even the 3mm difference between a 9.5mm board and a 12.5mm board, has a significant difference in the strength it will provide to the wall.

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Specifications
Documentation
Certificates
Video

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Processability

Alloy AlMgO,7Si 6063 condition T6

Aluminum profiles

EPDM synthetic rubber / TPE thermoplastic elastomers

Seals

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What is a Wall Stud? Everything You Need to Know

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