Galvanized steel stud on concrete pad

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virtualuk

0
Jun 21, 2016
4
San Jose/CA
Hi folks - I had a couple of questions regarding the use of galvanized steel studs to frame out a BBQ island, where the frame would be sitting on a textured concrete stamped pad (e.g. rough not flat texture). I'm planning on having backer board with stucco and weep screed, or perhaps some kind of tile to face it at the bottom. It's going to be an L shaped island and there is a slight slope on the pad so water runs away from the house but it would be into the 'L'.

My questions are, if I use galvanized steel studs to frame out the island, is there going to be any problems with a small amount of water being present in the rainy season (only a few months of the year, as I live in San Jose, CA) - e.g. rusting out over some period of time, should I raise the base of the frame off of the floor by a fraction of an inch, am I over thinking this?

Cheers,

L
 
I built in island the same way you're looking to do yours last summer.

Trex board ripped in half would be perfect for your steel studs. I used sketchup to do all my designs and drawings, this way I know my cuts before hand.
bbq_frame_final.jpg


Here's my thread of the build from last year. There were definitely certain things I would have done different if I did it again... LEVEL, LEVEL, LEVEL!!! I did not take into consideration that my concrete deck was sloped for drainage so I squared my entire build only to have a slightly slanted island which I had to compensate for later.

I would suggest laying out your trex board around the perimeter of where your grill is going to be and do the bottom frame first, level and plumb it all out then start building up. It's easier to cut hardiboard slanted than to level a whole island later. Since I'm local to you, let me know if you have any questions on where I bought some of my materials.

Also it's important that you brush/mop titebond III on your hardiboard, this would water seal it

My ODK build progess *** COMPLETED***
 
bdavis466 - I have a question for you - I am about to embark on a similar project over here in AZ. I see you have a stucco exterior...so do I. Are you tying the island itself into the home, or are will it be freestanding? If you are tying it to the home...how?

As an addition to the OP's question, in addition to the Trex decking, if the island is small enough, you can consider leveling feet under the Trex so you can make minor leveling adjustments later and keep the structure off the patio (and allow for drainage under) if you want to go that route. I have found 304 stainless leveling feet, rated up to 1800 lbs each, that can be adjusted from inside the cabinet once built. They aren't cheap ($20 or so each) but for a smaller project might be a good option for both water issues and leveling issues. Not sure I'd go that route for a huge project - that could get pretty pricey...

---Lee
 

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What you can do is not do single long Trex on the bottom to allow drainage. I left about .5" gap between the hardieboard to the ground. I use section leave gaps in between of the deck board. I had some decent rain this year and see no issue with water pooling.

I wasn't trying to tie it to the house by using stucco, it was the cheapest and easiest option. Though, the wife did suggest ledger or stack stones but I had none of those feature in the yard so I felt it would be too much off. So stucco in any shade of color would be ok IMO.

I don't know about the feet option but don't believe the steal studs can handle the weight without you reinforcing the frame with 2x4 and mount the feet to it. The feet will be only as strong as what you secure them to.
 
leeatmg said:
bdavis466 - I have a question for you - I am about to embark on a similar project over here in AZ. I see you have a stucco exterior...so do I. Are you tying the island itself into the home, or are will it be freestanding? If you are tying it to the home...how?

As an addition to the OP's question, in addition to the Trex decking, if the island is small enough, you can consider leveling feet under the Trex so you can make minor leveling adjustments later and keep the structure off the patio (and allow for drainage under) if you want to go that route. I have found 304 stainless leveling feet, rated up to 1800 lbs each, that can be adjusted from inside the cabinet once built. They aren't cheap ($20 or so each) but for a smaller project might be a good option for both water issues and leveling issues. Not sure I'd go that route for a huge project - that could get pretty pricey...

---Lee
Click to expand...

I tied it to the house by securing the framing into the studs of the house. I drilled through the stucco with a masonry bit in a hammer drill.

My patio slab is sloped about an 1-1/4" over the distance of the island. I just varied the heights of the studs to get the top level. I have a bunch of leeway with the how the countertop will work out though so I wasn't overly concerned with getting it perfect.
 
dannieboiz said:
What you can do is not do single long Trex on the bottom to allow drainage. I left about .5" gap between the hardieboard to the ground. I use section leave gaps in between of the deck board. I had some decent rain this year and see no issue with water pooling.

I wasn't trying to tie it to the house by using stucco, it was the cheapest and easiest option. Though, the wife did suggest ledger or stack stones but I had none of those feature in the yard so I felt it would be too much off. So stucco in any shade of color would be ok IMO.

I don't know about the feet option but don't believe the steal studs can handle the weight without you reinforcing the frame with 2x4 and mount the feet to it. The feet will be only as strong as what you secure them to.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! Here in AZ, we don't get frequent rains but we DO get standing water once or twice a year during the monsoon season. A couple of years ago we got six inches in about three hours and had a few inches of standing water in the yard for a day or two. I would imagine the drainage under the island is largely dependent on where you live; here, it's not as much of an issue but in wetter climates it would be a must-have feature.

The projects I have seen elsewhere that use leveling feet mount them about every 4 feet or so on the base frame, and mount them into the Trex decking. In addition, they used the Trex for more than just the corners, so I suspect the Trex is acting as structural reinforcement of the bottom in addition to the cement board. Not sure if I will go that route but I might if I were doing something smaller. In one build I saw on another forum, the guy building it had a local company custom make leveling feet for him with a steel plate for support; his project was about 40 linear feet of counter and I think he used 60+ leveling feet for it. That could be very pricey.

- - - Updated - - -

bdavis466 said:
I tied it to the house by securing the framing into the studs of the house. I drilled through the stucco with a masonry bit in a hammer drill.

My patio slab is sloped about an 1-1/4" over the distance of the island. I just varied the heights of the studs to get the top level. I have a bunch of leeway with the how the countertop will work out though so I wasn't overly concerned with getting it perfect.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply! I have considered not tying it into the house just because of the difficulty of locating studs through stucco but I don't think it would look nearly as nice as going the permanent route. I've got the hammer drill and masonry bits, so that's not an issue...just need to find the studs now.

Love the countertop...I can see why you don't have such an issue with leveling!
 
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