I'm going to build a fence with horizontal slats in the dimension of 34x70 mm. I'm thinking of buying some decking screws. I will probably need about 2000 screws.
Essve's screws cost about 230 SEK for 250 pieces. Bauhaus has them but also a decking screw from the brand swedfast which are reduced from 199 SEK to 59 SEK. Both have C4 classification. How much difference is there in decking screws in general when it comes to durability, etc.
I don't like to skimp and buy cheap "junk", but I also don't want to spend money unnecessarily.
Essve's screws cost about 230 SEK for 250 pieces. Bauhaus has them but also a decking screw from the brand swedfast which are reduced from 199 SEK to 59 SEK. Both have C4 classification. How much difference is there in decking screws in general when it comes to durability, etc.
I don't like to skimp and buy cheap "junk", but I also don't want to spend money unnecessarily.
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There is a big difference in quality otherwise, I bought Beijer's own brand "Raptor" which can be considered to be in the mid-range price class. Quite a few have broken now after two years... If I were building a deck today, I would have bought premium screws.
Screwed down a deck with a mix of C4 and stainless A4 (both Essve 4.2mm) which I unscrewed a year later for some modifications. I then noticed that about 25-30% of the C4 screws were broken, while all the stainless ones were intact.
Almost ten years ago, I installed a deck using Byggmax's then-cheap stainless steel screws at 4.2mm. I've occasionally removed some boards for various reasons. Not a single one of the screws I have removed has been broken, although I have broken a few when trying to unscrew them (you can tell from the fracture surface if it's new or old).
Interesting, the Raptor I used are also C4 as mentioned, and I made some minor adjustments last year, and at least 10% were broken. Stainless is tougher steel, so it probably handles movement better, but then it's strange that C4 is sold as deck screws when so many break. I'm going to retighten the deck soon again, so I'll find out just how bad it is this year....sulfobus said:
I bought decking screws at Byggmax with A2 class. Came home and noticed that I also had a good amount of Essve's decking screws class C4. So now we'll see which I choose. Can't be bothered to return the Byggmax screws.
Both types are 4.8x75. Is that enough to screw 45x70 slats for the fence? Initially, I was thinking of using 34x70, but it ended up being 45x70 pressure-treated wood for the slats.
Both types are 4.8x75. Is that enough to screw 45x70 slats for the fence? Initially, I was thinking of using 34x70, but it ended up being 45x70 pressure-treated wood for the slats.
It's borderline, I would have chosen a longer screw. Both to have a longer part that grips the post and because there's more unthreaded part on a longer one which makes it easier to draw in the slat.Anna1984 said:
I used 4.8x75 for 28x45 battens, I would probably say that length is somewhat short for 45 thick battens. If you want to go the economical route, you might mix it with a longer version.
Stainless steel is much softer than the material in regular wood screws; there are a lot of phenomena you can encounter with the material.
A bit skeptical about these C4-rated screws. We usually test the rust protection at work, and it varies greatly between production batches, so those screws are completely out for me.
Stainless steel is much softer than the material in regular wood screws; there are a lot of phenomena you can encounter with the material.
A bit skeptical about these C4-rated screws. We usually test the rust protection at work, and it varies greatly between production batches, so those screws are completely out for me.
I have used several different brands of C4 screws and have also noticed that an awful lot of screws have broken. Unfortunately, I can't account for which brands of screws I've used or which have performed best, as I neither remember nor have used a proper strategy for the selection of where certain screws were used.
But I can say that almost all the screws I've bought have been from the lower price segment (perhaps not the absolute lowest) and that I feel quite skeptical today.
So if I were to build a new deck now, I would be torn between either stainless screws (which I believe are tougher and don't break as easily) or trying to find really good C4 screws and not care about the cost.
But I have no idea if even the best, most expensive C4 screws are much better.
It feels like a test should be done.
But I can say that almost all the screws I've bought have been from the lower price segment (perhaps not the absolute lowest) and that I feel quite skeptical today.
So if I were to build a new deck now, I would be torn between either stainless screws (which I believe are tougher and don't break as easily) or trying to find really good C4 screws and not care about the cost.
But I have no idea if even the best, most expensive C4 screws are much better.
It feels like a test should be done.