Roof truss - nail or screw?

[murak]

Planning to build W trusses with nail plates and wondering if anchor nails or anchor screws should be used for this?

I have screws at home but received a comment that nails are best, which made me uncertain.

Let me know if you need a drawing. Grateful for a quick response.

 

[KnockOnWood]

It's probably mostly a matter of taste.
But with anchor screws, I want to issue a warning:
I had anchor screws from Biltema when we built our garage.
We had trusses from Takstolsfabriken in Nässjö, but attached them to the beam with metal brackets and Biltema's anchor screws.
And a large part of the screws, maybe most of them, have since lost their heads.

Buy Heco (at Jula) or Gunnebo instead!

 

[murak]

It's probably mostly a matter of taste. But with anchor screws, I want to issue a warning: I had anchor screws from Biltema when we built our garage. We had roof trusses from Takstolsfabriken in Nässjö, but attached them to the support beam with metal angles and Biltema's anchor screws. And a large part of the screws, maybe most, have lost their heads since.

Buy Heco (at Jula) or Gunnebo instead!

Thanks for the quick reply!

Sounds good. The screws are bought at xl-bygg and I have carefully explained what they are for. I actually asked if the heads twist off easily or not and he assured me it was good quality.

 

[tergo]

that the heads are twisted off could also be because the screwdriver is in drill mode and not with torque setting
if you go full speed, it comes to a sudden stop when the screw hits the sheet metal, putting a lot of stress on the screw head, unlike when you screw into wood

I would have used anchor screws

t

 

[hydrolift]

the fact that the heads are twisted off can also be because you have the screwdriver in drill mode and not with torque setting
if you run at full speed, it will come to a sudden stop when the screw hits the metal and it's a big strain on the screw head compared to screwing into wood

I would have used coat screws

t

Biltema's coat screws were at any rate worthless a few years ago and broke almost just by looking at them. Maybe it was a small batch that KnockOnWood and I managed to get hold of or if it was more widespread, I don't know, though.

 

[Bowser]

Biltema's anchor screw was at least useless a few years ago and broke almost just by looking at it. Maybe it was a small batch that KnockOnWood and I managed to come across or if it was more widespread, I don't know.

In 2016 I bought their anchor screw... couldn't use it for anything... bought it only because I was in the store... first and only time I buy screws from there (other things are good though!)

 

[NoOne2k]

https://www.byggahus.se/forum/threads/ankarskruv-infe-c4-4-8-x-40-mm.329515/

InFe seems to have caused problems for several people. I felt they didn't "bite as well" as the screws I bought at XL-bygg.

Otherwise, I think nails or screws are much of a muchness. However, you should not use regular nails or screws for the nail plates.

 

[xLnT]

The only reason to use screws instead of nails is if you ever want to loosen the fastenings.
Otherwise, it's both faster and easier to nail.

 

[DTanner]

It should even out. Ankarspik 4mm is equivalent to ankarskruv 5mm at least according to the hardware manufacturer. We used ankarspik in all places where we had two hands free and two feet on the ground. Screws when standing on a ladder 5m up where it might not be as easy to swing a hammer.