Santa Cruz, CA 95060 • Santa Cruz County • Incorporated 1866 • Family-Owned Since 1970 • CSLB #265709
Steel / Metal Stud Framing in Santa Cruz, CA
Light-gauge steel and metal stud framing in Santa Cruz — interior partitions, tenant-improvement walls, soffits, and fire-rated assemblies. We frame the wall so the drywall stays flat: Pacific Avenue shops, Downtown suites, Mission Street interiors, and house remodels inside city limits.
Santa Cruz Framing, Fairfield Crew
Ron Hogan Drywall has been family-owned since 1970. We are based in Fairfield, not a Santa Cruz storefront. This page is steel / metal stud framing in the City of Santa Cruz, CA — Pacific Avenue, Mission Street, Soquel Avenue, Water Street, and Ocean Street. It is not the rest of Santa Cruz County.
Text “Santa Cruz” with the plans or a photo of the room. If the scope is interior metal studs — or frame-and-hang on the same trip — we schedule it. The street decides the bid.
Metal Stud Work We Do in Santa Cruz
Interior partition walls
Track, studs, and bracing for new rooms, office layouts, and non-load-bearing walls inside city limits. This is the skeleton the board hangs on.
Tenant improvement framing
Retail, restaurant, medical, and office build-outs Downtown on Pacific Avenue and along Mission Street. If the drawing says steel studs, that is the bid. Commercial framing →
Downtown, Pacific Avenue, and Mission Street interiors
Shop partitions, restaurant walls, and rated assemblies on Pacific Avenue, Mission Street, Soquel Avenue, Water Street, and Ocean Street inside city limits.
Soffits, bulkheads, and chases
Dropped ceilings, kitchen hood wraps, and framed openings so boxes, ducts, and lights have a home before drywall.
Fire-rated and heavier-gauge walls
Listed assemblies, Type X board later, and heavier studs when the plan or the engineer calls for them. The rating is the whole wall — not the stud alone.
House remodel and ADU partitions
New interior steel walls inside an existing Santa Cruz house when the finish needs a straighter plane than bowed lumber. Wood structure stays wood unless the plan says otherwise. Metal vs wood →
Frame and hang together
One crew frames the metal, hangs the board, and can finish it. Split bids leave missing backing and wavy walls. Services →
Which Stud Belongs on a Santa Cruz Job
| Stud | Use it when | Skip it when |
|---|---|---|
| Light-gauge metal (what we frame) | Pacific Avenue TI, Downtown shops, Mission Street suites, rated commercial walls, or a remodel that needs a flat plane for Level 4 / Level 5 | You need beams, columns, or structure that hold the building up — that is a different contractor |
| 25-ga interior studs | Short, non-load-bearing partitions with a normal finish | Tall walls, high-abuse corridors, or a spec that names 20-ga or heavier |
| 20-ga / heavier track and studs | Taller commercial walls, restaurant TIs, office interiors, or engineer notes | A simple closet that never needed the extra gauge |
| Wood studs | Most house walls off Water Street, Ocean Street, and the neighborhood streets with no commercial spec | The plan already says steel, or the finish will show every bow |
| Furring / hat channel on masonry | Concrete or masonry walls that need a cavity for boxes before drywall | Glue-only board on a finished living space |
Compare studs: Metal vs wood → · Cost: Is steel expensive? → · Why it stays flat: Steel benefits →
Santa Cruz Streets, ZIPs, and Permits
Santa Cruz is an incorporated city — March 31, 1866. Downtown and City Hall use 95060. East-side mail often uses 95062, which also covers Live Oak, Pleasure Point, and parts of Capitola. 95064 is UC Santa Cruz. This page is city limits only. It uses the 831 area code. Permits inside the city run through the City of Santa Cruz Building & Safety Division at 809 Center Street, Room 101. County jobs go to 701 Ocean Street. Text the street so the bid matches the city address.
Pacific Avenue carries Downtown. Mission Street, Soquel Avenue, Water Street, and Ocean Street run the commercial and neighborhood spine. Occupied shops, Downtown TIs, and house remodels change the layout — not the stud spec.
The usual mismatch is treating a Pacific Avenue tenant wall like a bedroom 2×4 — or hanging a Level 5 commercial finish on house framing that only needed wood hang-only. Interior metal studs do not hold a house up. Occupied houses, open shops, and after-hours offices need a clean layout, backing for cabinets and TVs, and a stud plane the finish can live with. Matching the spec still beats guessing the gauge. Send the plan sheet or a wide shot of the room. That photo decides wood hang-only vs new metal studs faster than a ZIP code.
How a Santa Cruz Metal-Stud Job Runs
1. Photos + place
Text (925) 791-9099 Santa Cruz, the street, and the plans or a photo of the wall.
2. Name the wall
Partition, TI layout, soffit, rated assembly, Pacific Avenue shop, Mission Street suite, or frame-and-hang. We will say if the existing framing can take the finish.
3. We frame it
Protect the space. Track, studs, backing, hang if scoped. Ready for inspection and board. 12-month warranty on our work.
Santa Cruz, CA
This page is steel and metal stud framing in the City of Santa Cruz — 95060 and city addresses in 95062 — from our Fairfield shop. Permits inside city limits run through the City of Santa Cruz at 809 Center Street. Need the board hung and finished on the same job? Services → · Framing basics: Framing guide → · Capitola framing: Capitola →
Office: 2380 Palmer Circle, Fairfield, CA · CSLB #265709 · Check the number on cslb.ca.gov.
Not on This Page
No fake Santa Cruz address. No structural steel building. No promise that metal studs hold a house up. We frame interior light-gauge walls and hang drywall on wood or steel. A closet does not need a shaft-wall spec. Live Oak and Pleasure Point share 95062. Aptos, Capitola, and Boulder Creek are different pages. This page is the City of Santa Cruz — not the rest of the county.
Santa Cruz Metal Stud FAQs
Do you do steel / metal stud framing in Santa Cruz?
Yes. Interior light-gauge metal stud framing in the City of Santa Cruz, CA from our Fairfield shop — partitions, Pacific Avenue and Downtown TIs, Mission Street interiors, soffits, heavier-gauge spec walls, and frame-and-hang.
Is this structural steel?
No. We frame interior light-gauge studs, track, headers, and soffits. Beams, columns, and structure that hold the building up are a different contractor.
Do Santa Cruz houses use metal studs or wood?
Most house walls here are still wood. Metal wins on Pacific Avenue and Downtown TIs, rated partitions, and remodels that need a straighter plane for a smooth finish. If the drawing names the stud, that wins.
Can you frame a shop on Pacific Avenue or Downtown?
Yes. Occupied retail and restaurant TIs on Pacific Avenue, Downtown, and along Mission Street are a usual request — new partitions, soffits, and backing, then hang if the scope includes board.
Do you work occupied Santa Cruz buildings?
Yes. Floors are protected and the layout is planned around an occupied house, an open Downtown shop, or an after-hours office. A full TI is still a construction job — plan rooms.
Do you work Pacific Avenue, Mission Street, and Downtown?
Yes. Pacific Avenue, Mission Street, Soquel Avenue, Water Street, Ocean Street, Center Street, and other addresses inside city limits are on this framing page. Text the street with the photos.
What ZIPs does this Santa Cruz page cover?
City addresses in 95060 and 95062. 95064 is UC Santa Cruz. 95062 also covers Live Oak and Pleasure Point. Text the street with the photos so the bid matches the address inside the city.
Who issues the permit in Santa Cruz?
The City of Santa Cruz Building & Safety Division at 809 Center Street, Room 101. County jobs go to 701 Ocean Street.
How much does metal stud framing cost in Santa Cruz?
It follows the gauge, wall height, how cut-up the layout is, fire rating, access, and whether we only frame or also hang and finish. Downtown staging can change the number. Photos or plans first. Written scope — no hidden fees.
Are you licensed in California?
Yes. CSLB #265709. Look it up before you book us or anyone else.
Need Santa Cruz Walls Framed Straight — Then Hung?
Call the family-owned crew that has been framing interiors and hanging board since 1970.
Call / Text (925) 791-9099