Steel studs or wood

[rodeair]

I'm trying to decide the material for my oven enclosure. The framing for the cement board and rock veneer at the base will be six foot square tapering up to a 2 ft square chimney. This section starts above the oven opening. Pressure treated wood would be much cheaper than steel studs, but would appreciate any advise.

Leigh

[david s]

Re: Steel studs or wood

Most builders seem to go for steel, but remember that steel rusts particularly in the presence of heat and moisture, both of which are abundant in a WFO. The drawback with timber is of course that it burns quite well and is also usually treated with poison. The heat and moisture may be conducive to that being a problem.
Your choice.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Steel studs or wood

I used steel studs to frame out the enclosure/then cement board/stone veneer. I didnt want to use ANY combustible material in the the construction of my oven. I realize that it "shouldnt" get that hot, but I didnt want to even have to think about it.

[Gulf]

Re: Steel studs or wood

If you respect the insulation requirements and the local building code tolerances, wood is acceptable. For me, wood is a heck of a lot easier to work with than metal .

[wotavidone]

Re: Steel studs or wood

I'm trying to decide the material for my oven enclosure. The framing for the cement board and rock veneer at the base will be six foot square tapering up to a 2 ft square chimney. This section starts above the oven opening. Pressure treated wood would be much cheaper than steel studs, but would appreciate any advise.

Leigh

Amazing isn't it? Here in my country South Australian town, I can buy 3 x 2 galvanised steel C-section cheaper than treated pine. and I only live about 25 miles from a massive plantation.

[stonecutter]

Re: Steel studs or wood

The drawback with timber is of course that it burns quite well and is also usually treated with poison. The heat and moisture may be conducive to that being a problem.
Your choice.

The only place were PT is beneficial is for the sill plate... And even then there should be sill tape or some other capillary break between the plate and the slab. The rest of the framing can be done with standard lumbar, which is not treated.

[rodeair]

Re: Steel studs or wood

Thanks for the replies. I'm leaning toward wood because of cost and ease of use as Gulf says. All four sides will be angled in about 45 degrees, so with the weight on the structure, I was looking at 16ga. metal which all told would be about $300. Wood will be less than a third of that. Thanks again for the help.

Leigh

[kanoer54]

Re: Steel studs or wood

Something like a termite shield should be used between the concrete and the bottom plate to help keep moisture from migrating to the framing. We use copper or aluminum in the midwest US. If i use steel studs, I would also use some sort of barrier.

jon

[GrahamG]

Re: Steel studs or wood

We assembled our oven then made a timber frame covering the inside of the frame with fireboard and then putting wood on the outside of the frame. It does the job!

Fireboard is a board that has fire retardant in it, don;t know what it is called in the States.

[boerwarrior]

Re: Steel studs or wood

I framed my dome in cement board. I found that it was stiff enough that I didn't need much framing. I used inexpensive right-angle aluminum (1 inch wide on each side) and it appears to have plenty of strength

[GrahamG]

Re: Steel studs or wood

I never thought of ali angle iron...but we filled the void with vermiculite for even more insulation. I can get the temp up to 600C inside and the outside of the oven is at the same temp as the outside drain pipe.