I'm looking to build a wall in the basement. Basement exterior walls have concrete ledge so I'm planning to build a wall in front of it to build a straight wall floor to ceiling. I have couple questions:
Since the exterior wall is already load bearing, the new wall in front should not be load bearing right?
If the above is true, then can I frame the wall with screws and not nails? And can I use a 2 x 3 instead? Sole purpose of this wall is to hang drywall from floor to ceiling.
I often use screws in such situations. Toenailing upside-down is not for the uninitiated. It's an exercise in frustration as:
I say toenailing because building walls on the ground and tipping them up requires a high level of measurement precision. Concrete floors are never flat, and you end up with either big gaps above or walls that require sledgehammers to get into position. Or both. So lay out your plates, install them, then measure studs individually.
I would qualify this by saying not to use drywall (black oxide) screws, which are brittle and don't tolerate bending. Almost any decent gold 3" screw would be fine.
Sure you can use screws they would be stronger than nails. It’s a non weight bearing wall I have seen plenty toe nailed in place with 8 penny. Make sure to anchor the bottom plate and the top.
