First time posting

[Gojeremy]

Hi Everyone

This is my first post but i have read, and taken, a lot of advise from this forum lately. I am a fairly new homeowner and i like to tinker in my garage. Very basic skills but trying to improve. Anyway, my question for everyone is this....Is there a screw size that you guys seem to use more often than not? I ask this because i was in the hardware store and they had a huge selection. Obviously, there is a size for every job but just curious if there was kind of a common size and length. Thanks everyone.

 

[AA/FC]

Welcome...


Screws for what? General home projects and repair? I would probably say 2 inch sheet rock (drywall) screws are a good all around general purpose screw to have on-hand. can be used for MANY things, not just drywall.

 

[kctyphoon]

for doing stuff around the house - drywall/framing general construction -- 1 1/2" and 3" drywall screws are probably the most common.. so screwing something into 1 2x4, or scrwewing 2x4's into each other.. anything else is pretty much job specefic..

you could awlays just buy a bunch of differnt sizes and throw them into an organizer to keep stuff around the house.. i probaly have half a dozen organizers stuffed with thousands of differnt screws that get brought home from work or just left overs from all the home projects..

 

[Docman]

Black drywall screws are common general-use screws. Use coarse thread for fastening to wood. Fine thread is for metal applications (metal studs in commercial offices and such).

However, they rust easily. I'd say look for zinc coated screws, which usually have a metallic, shiny appearance.

To be honest, I'd recommend a mixed set if you're just starting out and not sure what to look for. Get something with some wood screws and small bolts. Lowes/Home Depot/Menards/Ace/etc carry a variety of these mixed packs.

Ideally you should have some project in mind that would guide your purchase, but if you're starting from nothing a mixed set is as good a starting place as any.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Get a 5# box of 1-5/8" gold drywall screws, and then a 5# box of 3" drywall screws.

that will cover most everything. The short ones to hang **** from and the longer ones to screw 2 2x4s together

 

[DanInVA]

I don't know a whole lot about screws, but welcome to gj.

 

[C96]

Same here, drywall screws, they work well for a variety of projects.

Oh and welcome to the Garage Gojeremy, glad to have ya!

 

[jeremy v]

After seeing your screen name I just had to post here, say hi, and welcome you to Garagejournal. I have never had someone join a forum just to root me on before.

Speaking of screws, don't use drywall screws for anything structural. They work great for holding sheetrock under tensile force, but they fall short in other situations. Black sheetrock screws are quite brittle and they can snap if the head is screwed into wood or if faced with a shear force like you would see if they were used for building shelf framework etc. Wood/deck type screws are not as hardened so they are much better against shear forces and more likely to bend instead of snap.