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durock fasteners

cutawooda | Posted in Construction Techniques on December 6, 2002 05:42am

Is it ok to use long roofing nails to put up durock on a shower wall?

I saw some metal roof nails with the rubber washers on them. They were ring shanked all the way up the nail, unlike roofing nails. I would just havbe to remove the washers.

Also, I am using 1/4 ” hardi backer on the floor. I ordered 2″ ring shank nails to puit it down but they shipped me 2  1/2 ” spiral nails. The heads are a little too small for my comfort level. You think they will be ok

Reply

Replies

  1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2002 05:47am | #1

    Just curious why not screws?

    1. User avater
      JeffBuck | Dec 06, 2002 06:39am | #2

      Why screws on the walls....

      and thinset and roofers on the floor.....

      Jeff

      Buck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

       Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite                  

      1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2002 06:42am | #3

        I've seen guys using roofers on floors with liquid nail, but never seen anyone nail cement board to the walls before, always used screws

        1. User avater
          JeffBuck | Dec 06, 2002 09:35am | #4

          that was supposed to say...."why not"...

          my fault!

          Now..why not roofers and liquid nails on the walls?

          I'd still screw.......the walls....

          JeffBuck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

           Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite                  

          1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2002 10:51am | #5

            why not nails and glue on the walls?

            I just like screws better, they hold better

          2. cutawooda | Dec 06, 2002 04:52pm | #6

            you know,...I think I might try ,.....screws!

          3. Stray | Dec 06, 2002 04:56pm | #7

            I've used roofing nails, zinc coated screws, and finally the fancy ($) Durock screws actually designed for the job.

            BUY the Durock screw$.  Trust me. 

            I'm a cheap Bastd'  but the self countersinking screws made the job go faster an I felt better about the screws vs nails.  I won't go back to anything else now.

          4. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2002 05:03pm | #8

            The rock screws are really that much better?  Ive seen them but cant bring myself to spend the extra money, what makes them so much better?  Like you I always use the zinc coated screws

          5. Stray | Dec 06, 2002 07:59pm | #9

            There better in sevceral ways. 

            The zincs' heads snap off pretty easily if overdriven.  The durock screws are beefier, and you won't have to cus and fuss with driving another screw right next to the one that snapped.

            Their heads also have a couple little ridges on the underside of the head or "bugle".  This works like a bit, to grind the durock away as the screw turns, seating itself, letting them countersink flush every (almost every) time.  Screws that don't sit flush are a pain when you're scraping the thinset with the trowel to get a nice even setting thickness.  It also insures the strongest connection of the durock to framing when the head is in full contact with the board.

            I think their coating is superior to zinc in terms of corrosion resistance.  I.E. if you screw a zinc coated screw through durock, some zinc scrapes off and allows corosion to happen.  Not sure exactly what the metal and coating is on the Durock screws, but I believe it's supposed to provide superior corosion resistance. 

            Probably adds $10 to the cost of the materials, saves in time/frustration, gives a little more piece of mind.

            No, I don't work for the company  ;)

          6. Piffin | Dec 07, 2002 06:29am | #15

            You guys are gonna hate me.

            I stopped in to an Ace Hardware that was having a clearance sale. I guess they don't sell that many Durock Screws.

            I got all five hundred for about ten or twelve bucks..

            Excellence is its own reward!

            "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

            The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

            --Marcus Aurelius

          7. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2002 07:10am | #16

            Congrats on the great deal

            Whats your opinion of using deckmates opposed to the durrock screws?

          8. Piffin | Dec 07, 2002 08:25am | #17

            I haven't used Deckmates yet.

            I use some GRK Reisser Torx head structural screws and some SS square drives. I hear a lot of good about deckmate and have filed it in my head. If I were using other than the Drock screws, it wou ld prob'ly be SS bugle heads, not having seen the Deckmates..

            Excellence is its own reward!

            "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

            The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

            --Marcus Aurelius

          9. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2002 11:07am | #18

            I like the idea behind SS screws but they are so much more money and I cant see the added benifet behind them for use on cement board.

          10. Piffin | Dec 07, 2002 05:22pm | #20

            I just like to go overboard, but when you buy in larger quantity it isn't that much more for one shower each.

            Admittedly, the only thing that will make SS needed would be a leak and in that case, you've got other trouble anyway..

            Excellence is its own reward!

            "The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

            The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."

            --Marcus Aurelius

          11. User avater
            RichBeckman | Dec 07, 2002 06:08pm | #21

            Admittedly, I haven't done that much tile, but I've done enough to know that I don't like Durock and enough to know that if I was to use Durock again, I sure wouldn't be wasting time over how to fasten it. Get the Durock screws. They will be the best part of working with Durock and the cost really is insignificant in the overall cost of the job.

            Rich Beckman

            Another day, another tool.

          12. dw40 | Dec 07, 2002 07:47pm | #22

            My only problem with SS (besides the cost, which is easy to pass along as an upgrade, 'cause they're shiny) is the fact they can be brittle and snap, another one of those metallurgical trade-offs.  And yes, I am green with envy at that price...

            CAG, As far as my opinion of the Durrock screws, it really doesn't count for too much, as I have only done three jobs where I've used them.  But for what it's worth, they've been great each time.  I've tried bugle heads when I've run out of the others at the end of a day and didn't find them counter-sinking very well at all.  I just stopped and had at it the next day with the durrock screws.

            DW

          13. booch | Dec 06, 2002 11:23pm | #10

            I've used the Knockoff Menards/chinese Durock square drive screws and they do countersink like a dream. The only downside is the knockoffs do have the hot zinc plating and the square drive hole is plugged partially in 1 out of 20 screws. I pitched all the defectives as the third one I tried to use cammed out and I pierced myself with the square drive bit. Zinc is one of the essential metals we need in our body isn't it?

            The good news is they go in real well and countersink nicely. Plus DW screws can't handle the torque. I originally went to SS screws but the cost was prohibitive.

          14. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2002 12:27am | #11

            Well I know they make zinc vitamens so maybe you just got your daily dose that day lol

            Yeah, Stainless screws are to expensive for use in most things...I only use them for exterior furiture, like chairs, planters stuff like that, and try to avoid having to use them anywhere else if I can, besides Deckmate look better and are coated pretty well which brings me to my next question, what is the cost comparison between Deckmate and the Durock screws?

          15. booch | Dec 07, 2002 01:01am | #12

            I have to pick up some corner tile this weekend to finish a bathroom so I'll check out the price difference.

            Seems to me the Durock Knockoffs were a bit more expensive per piece but the additional heft of these babies probably shakes out to a buck a pound for either product.

            Hey remember to drink your milk and eat your cheese.

            I just found out he MIL, with a late stage of Osteoporosis, just broke her hip by falling in her bedroom today in her place. Surgery for sure and replacement is possible (although at 82...?). Can you have a hip replaced when you have already had a knee replaced on the same side? This disease has all the hallmarks of Aids without the contagious ramifications. People just waste away and hurt like hell for the years they sustain. I'm off to see what's what and discuss it with DW. Thankfully DW is pretty pragmatic and this won't be a tearjerker. It'd be preferable to be hit by a truck in my opinion. Of course she's got a ticker that will keep her going for another decade so this looks like another bump in her road to salvation. Strange world isn't it?

            As my pop said well before he passed on. "as far as I knows no one has gotten out of this alive"

          16. dw40 | Dec 07, 2002 03:41am | #13

            Just bought both a couple days ago and have the reciept here:

            Box of Rock On Durrock screws (75?) $5.96

            Box of 3" Deckmate screws (500) $19.97

            I just did a deck and used the Deckmates for the first time. I liked them so much I picked up this box to have around for interior stuff. The deck job probably took about 2500 screws. I picked up about 8 of their special screw tips at the outset. I used 2 and could have got by with the one. They rarely strip out. Also, I am used to being able to snap screws off at the base if I can't get them out. These are Far less brittle. They bend and bend without breaking.

          17. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2002 04:07am | #14

            Thanks for the info, looks like deckmate are about half the cost, at least if I can do basic math,  They are great wood screws, and I have to assume they are better then the zinc coated ones I have used in the past for hanging durrock,  Whats your opinion on the durrock screws?  Are they worth the extra money over deckmates?

  2. andybuildz | Dec 07, 2002 02:10pm | #19

    Cut

          First nail up felt paper to the studs then SCREW the CBU up. No debate here IMHO

    Be a wall

             Namaste

                       ydna

    You don’t complete your inner work before you do your outer work. Nor do you say, "Well, the hell with the inner work: I’ll go do the outer work because it’s so important and pressing." That’s not conscious either. The conscious thing is the simultaneous doing of both. "Ram Dass"
    http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

    1. FineBlade | Dec 08, 2002 05:12am | #23

      first tar paper, then durock screws on the walls; bed in thinset and durock screws on the floor. most of what i know i have learned from redoing things that weren't done in a durable way the first time. laying the tiles is the important job, why compromise over a couple of dollars worth of fasteners?

      1. Cole | Dec 08, 2002 05:38am | #24

        Any of you guys ever try the GP Dens-Shield for wall tile.  I have a few times and sure like using it alot better than durock on walls.  Not for floors but in shower walls it sure is nice.  Easier and cleaner to cut and seems ridgid enough for wall tile assuming framing is adeaquate.  Not trying to steer this thread anywhere just thought I'd ask since there are some people who don't care to work with durock.

        ColeCole Dean

        Dean Contracting

        1. CAGIV | Dec 08, 2002 06:37am | #25

          I've hung a fair amount of durrock, but never heard of Dens-Shield, what is it, is it like cement board, what's it made of, why is it not adequate for floors?

          Sorry to dump so many questions on you but always curious about new materials.

          1. User avater
            RichBeckman | Dec 08, 2002 07:27am | #26

            Dens-shield is my first choice as long as it isn't a shower floor, but I'll use it on any other floor. More info is at:

            http://www.gp.com/gypsum/tilebacker/index.html

            Rich Beckman

            Another day, another tool.

          2. Cole | Dec 08, 2002 05:50pm | #28

            I think it would be adequate for floors actually.  I just have never used it for them.  It really is alot easier to work with than durock and less mess.  One thing is,  the only place I can get it around here is from a drywall supply house. 

            ColeCole Dean

            Dean Contracting

          3. cutawooda | Dec 08, 2002 08:26pm | #29

             I used it for the firt time and as far as ease of use it is great!. I still feel tht is might be too light. I am scared the call back it coming,..it hasnt, and its been 6 months but I am still scared of the callback for cracked grout lines. Cut it with a utility knife and set it in thinset and tape the joints.

          4. andybuildz | Dec 08, 2002 10:14pm | #30

            Callbacks are a comin'

            aYou don’t complete your inner work before you do your outer work. Nor do you say, "Well, the hell with the inner work: I’ll go do the outer work because it’s so important and pressing." That’s not conscious either. The conscious thing is the simultaneous doing of both. "Ram Dass"http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

      2. andybuildz | Dec 08, 2002 05:37pm | #27

        FBC

            Thats exactly the way I do it although when I do floors I set the CBU in thinset and use screws AND nails 1/2 & 1/2. I always use Wonderboard as I find its heavier and more water resistant. Its only a cpl a dollars more. Try lifting up a piece of Durorock then the Wonderboard. Its way heavier.

        Be a wall

                   Namaste'

                                 AndyYou don’t complete your inner work before you do your outer work. Nor do you say, "Well, the hell with the inner work: I’ll go do the outer work because it’s so important and pressing." That’s not conscious either. The conscious thing is the simultaneous doing of both. "Ram Dass"http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

      3. xMikeSmith | Dec 09, 2002 01:18am | #31

        if you're concerned about the coating, then why use anyting besides SS?

        durock, hardibacker... hot dipped galv. roofers is fine with me.

        .now on decks & any exterior trim... since we work on an island any exposed trim fastener has to SS.. the deckmates will show rust in one season in our saltwater atmosphere... i know they drive easier..but have to be SS..

        so far the easiest driving , least problematical deck screw in SS is the GRK with the torx head.

        also the priciest...but who cares.. in for $0.12  or in for $0.15.. get it back in more consistent drives..

        might try the  impact drivers some are raving aboutMike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

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