Should I frame with metal studs or wood?
Steel for most commercial interior partitions and for basements and any wall where moisture is a risk. Wood where the wall carries load, where things get hung off it, and in most ordinary residential work. Both are correct, and the answer follows the job rather than a preference.
Where steel is the better choice
Commercial interior partitions, which are almost always light-gauge steel. It is straight, consistent, non-combustible, comes in the sizes rated assemblies are built from, and does not move as the building dries out.
Basements and anywhere near moisture, because steel does not rot and does not feed mould. In a below-grade wall that is a meaningful difference over time.
Long straight runs, where wood would need sorting for crowns and bows and steel simply does not have them.
Where wood still wins
Anything structural in a house. Load-bearing walls, headers and anywhere the wall carries something are ordinary wood framing.
Walls that will hold weight. Cabinets, heavy mirrors, wall-mounted televisions and grab bars all want solid blocking, and while steel can be blocked it is more work to do it well.
Small residential jobs where the crew, the fasteners and the tools are already set up for wood.
What matters more than the material
Layout accuracy, correct spacing for the board thickness, blocking where anything is going to be hung, and proper fastening at the top and bottom track.
We frame in both and finish the drywall over it ourselves, which means the framing gets set up for the finish rather than handed to whoever comes next.
The Work Behind This Answer
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