Best brand of screws with washers for steel roofing?
etting
| Posted in Green Products and Materials on
The painted steel roofing panels on my simple 4:12 gable roof will be attached to 2×4 strapping with exposed fasteners. The #9 x 1-1/2″ screws with EPDM washers used to secure the roofing to the wood range from around 12 cents each made by Metal Sales, who make lots of steel roofing such as ClassicRib, to a not-yet-specified brand that are 8 cents each. The Metal Sales screws are described as having “Metal encapsulated in EPDM for extra strength.” How significant are the differences between the brands of these screws, and which do you recommend?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Jeff,
I don't have an answer to your question but having installed a lot of metal roofing the two things i'd suggest are:
- Don't use an impact driver. The intermittent strokes tend to remove the protective finish on the screw heads.
- Most of the roofs I've looked at have had the screws over-driven. It's a natural tendency to want things tight, but over-driving ruins the gasket. Using the right amount of torque is very important.
Won't the metal roofing supplier include screws with the panels they sell you?
David,
When I buy metal roofing, the screws are not included. I have to order screws separately. However, most metal roofing manufacturers sell their own brand of screws, to make sure that the paint color on the screw heads matches the paint color on the roofing panels.
I didn't mean "included" as in "free", but "included" as in there's no need to order screws from a separate supplier. I have a collection of leftover metal roofing screws from various roofing manufacturers, and as far as I can tell, they're identical. It would surprise me if any of the roofing manufacturers make their own, and in fact I think in many cases they are buying coil stock pre-painted rather than even painting it themselves.
Thank you, Malcolm. I have a screw gun with adjustable torque that should help me avoid squishing any of the washers.
Given the importance of the screw washer's performance, I would think it's worth buying screws with the best washers regardless of which roofing you're buying, unless you're worried about an exact color match. The washers may all look the same, but the Metal Sales brand, for one, contain some metal mixed with the EPDM. What brands have you been happy with, Martin and David? Have you see any you would avoid?