johnson.faith•29d agoProlific Poster

Had a drywall ceiling collapse last month - realized I was using the wrong screws the whole time.

I've been doing drywall for about 8 years now, mostly basements and garages for a local crew in Toledo. Last month I hung a ceiling in a finished basement, came back the next morning and a whole sheet had pulled loose and was hanging by the corner. The homeowner wasn't even mad, just looked at me like I was an idiot. While I was cleaning up the mess I grabbed one of the screws I pulled out and noticed the threads were shallow, like a half inch from the head. Turns out I had been using coarse drywall screws meant for wood studs on 20 gauge steel track. The threads weren't gripping at all. Switched to fine thread self-tapping screws and the next ceiling went up solid. Anyone else ever make a screw type mistake that took way too long to figure out?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake_torres6829d ago

Wait, you're telling me you went 8 years using coarse thread screws on steel studs? That's not even a mistake, that's like using a hammer to screw in a lightbulb. I've been doing this for 12 years and I still get paranoid about screw types, but this is next level. I had a similar thing happen my first year when I grabbed a box of bugle head deck screws for drywall - they stuck out like 1/8 inch and looked like a mess. Glad you finally figured it out though, because that ceiling collapse could have been way worse if someone was standing under it.

hollyl4529d ago

Jake, your coarse thread story is giving me flashbacks to my own screw-up (literally). I spent three years using drywall screws for everything, including a deck that almost fell apart in the rain. The heads just snapped off like candy, and I couldn't figure out why until my buddy pointed at the box and laughed for five minutes straight. Your bugle head deck screws story hits close to home because I did the same thing on a bathroom vanity, and it looked like a hedgehog with all those bumps. It's scary how something so small can cause a big mess, but I guess we all learn the hard way. You're not alone in the screw paranoia department.

the_simon18d ago

Watch out for coated deck screws too, the coating can flake off and rust your project from the inside out.