Can a Wall Be Built Without Studs? (Short Answer)
Studs in a wall are essential to the construction of its walls. There can be no wall in a wood structure that does not contain studs unless the wall is made of masonry. Load-bearing wall studs are an essential part of distributing weight from the ceiling through the joists to the ground.
Unsupported wall studs hold the walls, windows, doors, insulation and more in place. In other words, they are the backbone of the home.
But wall studs also serve an important function in addition to forming the structure of your home. To hang a heavy object on the wall, you must figure out where the studs are.
Mounting a large picture, wall mirror, shelf, or TV wall mount on the wall section without a stud can cause the object to fall or damage the wall. Studs provide the support for securing hanging objects.
The wood walls and roof beams or trusses and floor joists make up a system called platform framing that has existed for more than a hundred years.
It functions properly because of its built-in potential for redundancy. For example, in the event of any accident or unforeseen event that directly affects the structure of the house, the result is usually localized damage that is easy to repair, without a total collapse of the structure.
Are there walls without studs?
Of course, there are kinds of walls that do not require studs, but in fact, I understand that the intention of this question has several reasons, especially refers to the construction of framed walls.
The framing wall construction system cannot create walls without studs, whether the studs are wood or metal, the studs are an essential part of the structure of the wall, the stud is what provides structural rigidity to the wall and helps the beams to distribute loads.
Drywall, plaster or any other type of inter-locking board used are simply sheathing materials that are not self-supporting.
Although, of course, there are masonry walls that for various reasons are covered with drywall or plaster panels, these kinds of walls do not have studs because the masonry already fulfills the structural and support part of the wall.
What walls do not have studs?
There are several types of walls that are not made with studs, the most basic are masonry walls, stone walls, concrete block walls, brick walls, there are also walls made with tensile structures.
Walls made with baked earth, log walls, and a great diversity of walls including walls that can be made with recycled materials and other new technologies to create walls with insulating materials.
What is the concept and purpose behind the use of studs in construction?
In the country where I am from, there is very little use of wood and stud construction, most of the construction is masonry.
Timber frame construction is mostly used in countries with high labor construction costs, supposedly to reduce costs, it is built much faster.
This is doubtful to me, because timber labor is usually more specialized and expensive than masonry, just as timber is more expensive than masonry materials.
The fundamental difference between a masonry wall and a wood-framed wall is that the masonry wall has greater compressive strength and although the masonry beams do not have much flexural strength, this is compensated for by the steel.
However, although wood has an acceptable compressive strength, wood especially yields easily to bending forces, a wood beam needs to have firm support in the walls and hence the vital importance of wood studs in the walls.
For the structural system of a timber building to function properly, the walls must necessarily be made up of studs and a lightweight sheathing.
The main function and the way they work in the distribution of a house is to distribute all the loads of the house to the foundation and from there to the ground, which are the most resistant parts of the house.
For this, the loads are distributed from the roof to the beams and columns and the walls also play a fundamental role in the distribution of the loads, especially in houses built with wooden frames.
All perimeter walls in a wood frame house are load-bearing walls, these walls have studs at a distance of 16 inches apart and as I mentioned previously, these walls support the beam to distribute the loads from the roof.
How do you hang drywall without studs?
If you do not have studs, but have a smooth surface and need to install drywall, a recommended idea is to use special drywall adhesives.
According to the manufacturer’s specifications, it requires a minimum adhesive thickness of approximately 10 or 12 mm. The exact value can be found in the technical information.
As always, if something should stick to it, the surface must not be loose, oily, dusty, wet, sanding, etc. Slightly dampen an absorbent surface in order to prevent the attachment binder (adhesive) from setting too quickly.
What can you use instead of a stud in a wall?
The traditional materials currently used as wall studs are metal and wood, which are easy to use and easy to obtain.
Currently, other alternative structural materials are being developed especially to replace wood as a building material, one of these materials is a structural composite material made from 100 percent recycled plastic.
Recycled polyethylene has great mechanical properties and is very strong, but in reality, its use as a wall stud is not highly recommended for several reasons.
First, plastic is not as resistant as wood, steel, or brick. Also, it permanently deforms under tension (creeps) and is harder to drill, nail, and screw than wood.
How far apart are wall studs placed?
Standard 16-inch spacing is generally followed by most building codes since, in the majority of cases, it is the best approach to structural integrity.
Typically, in many countries, wall studs are separated by 16 inches. In antique houses, they can be spaced as far apart as 24 inches, but very rarely farther than that.
Does drywall have to end on a stud?
Yes, it is necessary to start and finish with drywall on a stud. All drywall edges should be continuously supported and in case of overage, it should be cut so that it ends in the middle of the stud.
Because drywall board is a panel manufactured on the basis of compression of materials, the edges are points susceptible to breakage and wear if not properly protected or reinforced, bending of the frame may tend to crush and crumble the gypsum board.
Because of this, it is ideal that all drywall edges end in a solid surface, such as a stud. Aside from reinforcing the lack of resistance to bending forces, a stud prevents cracks and breaks that could occur at gypsum board edges in the long run.
Are stud walls load-bearing?
Stud walls can be load-bearing walls and non-load-bearing walls depending on the location of the wall in the layout of the house, in general, all perimeter walls of a wood-frame house should be load-bearing walls.
Some interior stud walls may also be load-bearing, especially if they pass under beams that span long spans.
Stud walls placed in the bathroom and kitchen area are also often considered load-bearing walls, since, even if they are not considered to distribute vertical loads, these walls usually have ceramic tile that must be fixed to a fairly solid wall.
Can the wall studs be horizontal?
A stud wall is structured vertically because that is the correct structural sense, in a wall, the studs must go vertically because the transmissions and support of weight and load on the walls work vertically.
This makes sense because stud walls are always tied to the joists that run horizontally and to the floor. If studs were placed horizontally in a wall, a structural error would be made and the structure would be weakened, No skilled and experienced builder will build a wall with horizontal studs.
In a wall, apart from the vertical studs, horizontal and diagonal pieces, called bridging or fire-stops, are also placed, the diagonal pieces provide lateral support, which is necessary for areas prone to storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
Do wall studs go all the way up?
Yes, the wall studs have to make a tie or connection from the beam that runs horizontally across the wall and down to the bottom plate, which is usually a piece of treated wood as it may be in direct contact with the concrete.
If the part that supports the bottom stud was not on concrete, rather on the surface of the plywood floor, it would not be treated lumber. Simply SPF (spruce-pine-fir) dimensional lumber like the rest of the wall components.
In temperate climates, they would generally be 2x4s, and in colder climates 2x6s (this to allow for more insulation in the wall cavities).
