Perry Mastrovito / Design Pics / Getty ImagesĪs a do-it-yourselfer or any type of casual drywall installer, you will not need a dedicated drywall screwgun.Ī drywall screwgun is a specialty tool used for hanging drywall. ![]() In the end, drywall screws are best used for drywall or for light building projects or for temporary construction when safety is not a factor. This explains why so many drywall heads snap off when being driven into wood. When a drywall screw being driven into wood reaches the head, a great amount of force is exerted this must be counteracted with force from the drill. The curved head of the drywall screw is specifically designed for creasing the top paper layer of drywall, not for sinking in wood. ![]() One reason why drywall screws are best used for drywall lies with its bugle head. But when it comes to hardwoods, drywall screws will break before wood screws. When working with softwoods, drywall screws even have an advantage over wood screws. Yet some do-it-yourselfers, conducting informal tests, have found that drywall screws are comparable to conventional wood screws in terms of strength. Drywall screw heads are especially prone to cleanly breaking off, leaving the shaft section embedded in your wood. No screw extractor can remove a headless screw. It is widely believed that drywall screws tend to be brittle. Avoidance of drywall screws is especially important with heavy or even moderate building tasks, critically with outdoor projects like fences and decks. That's because drywall screws are much cheaper than wood screws, they drive and bite into the wood extraordinarily well, and they are plentiful.įew woodworkers would ever use drywall screws for fine building. Some do-it-yourselfers use drywall screws for one unintended purpose: building projects. While drywall nails are still around and do have their use as a quick way to fasten wallboard, drywall screws have evolved as the standard method of attaching drywall to studs precisely because of the nail-pop problem. If you have an older house and find walls that have mysterious circular bumps, then you have nail-pops.īefore drywall screws came into widespread use, drywall was nailed into place with short, wide-head nails. The main purpose for drywall screws is securing full sheets of drywall (usually 4-foot by 8-foot for do-it-yourselfers) or partial sheets of drywall to either wood or metal studs.ĭrywall screws are good for repairing nail pops. Still, the majority of drywall installed by do-it-yourselfers in kitchens, bathrooms, and general areas will be 1/2-inch thick. Because it is flexible, it can be used to form curves. At 5/8-inch, type-x drywall is slightly thicker to slow the spread of flames and is used in garages and walls adjacent to furnace rooms.ĭrywall that is 1/4-inch thick is sometimes used as facing for walls and ceilings. About the only time that do-it-yourselfers will need to install thicker drywall is with fire code or type-x drywall. Thickness can sometimes increase or decrease, but only by very little and not very often. ![]() ![]() Most drywall installed in homes is 1/2-inch thick. The reason is that building materials can have a wide range of thicknesses: from sheet metal to four-by-four posts and even thicker. 5/8-inch drywall: Use 1 5/8-inch or 2-inch drywall screwsīy way of comparison, screws intended for construction come in a large range of sizes.1/2-inch drywall: Use 1 1/4-inch or 1 5/8-inch drywall screws.1/4-inch drywall: Use 1- to 1 1/4-inch drywall screws.The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |