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What gauge is light gauge steel?

Time: 2022-06-16 From: Xiamen Sinotok Machinery Co., Ltd.
Material. Most contractors are familiar with the light-gauge steel studs and track you can buy at lumberyards and drywall supply houses. These studs are usually 25-gauge steel with 1 1/4-inch flanges and are intended for non- load-bearing applications such as partition walls.

The load-bearing studs used in LGS houses are much stronger, anywhere from 20-gauge to 12-gauge in thickness, with a minimum 1 5/8-inch flange. They also have a thicker galvanized coating and are made from higher-strength steel than non-bearing studs.

Structural studs are not stock items. You can buy them through a drywall supply house, but they will be made to order by a roll-forming company. The roll former slits (cuts to width) the steel and runs it through a computer controlled machine that bends the profile, punches holes, and cuts each stud or track to the length you request. Incidentally, roll formers do not differentiate between joists, rafters, and studs. To them, almost everything is a stud or track. For example, a joist would be considered a 2×12 stud.