On 18 Jul 2006 18:41:09 -0700, wrote:

I'm getting ready to build myself a new shop building. for various
reasons, I'm ending up with a steel stud design. the finish will be
stucco to match the house, and I'm thinking of ways to sheath, insulate
and lath without introducing plywood into the design. I'm figuring that
with the walls framed at 16"OC I can use rigid foam insulation right
over the studs, lath over that and stucco over that.

Snip

I don't do steel stud construction much, but the stuff I've used seems
a little flimsy to use nothing but foam and metal lath on it. Before
you get too far along, I'd do a search or two on shear panel
requirements for steel stud framing- you don't want it blowing over
the first time a big gust of wind hits it! When you do regular stick
framing, the sheathing provides most of the lateral strength of the
building, and it just doesn't seem like foam would be enough to keep
the thing from flattening out given enough wind on the gable ends.

That isn't to say it needs plywood- it might be a matter of lateral
strapping every so many inches on the studs or something similar, but
it's definately worth your while to check on it.