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Hot take: Self-tapping screws for metal studs are way overrated
I was on a job in downtown Austin last month putting up board on a steel frame. The other guys on the crew were all using self-tappers and bragging about how fast they were. I stuck with my regular fine-thread screws and a punch. By the end of the day, I had zero popped screws and they had like a dozen they had to go back and fix. Has anyone else stopped using self-tappers after a similar mess?
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drewgonzalez25d ago
Did you notice how self-tappers sometimes feel too aggressive for their own good? I had the same thing happen last spring on a condo job, swapped back to punching pilot holes and my drywall looked way cleaner with way less trash to clean up.
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lunaf6725d ago
Self-tappers work great until the metal stud is thinner gauge than usual, then they just strip out and leave you cursing under your mask in the crawlspace. A punch gives you way more control over the bite and lets you feel if the metal is flexing before you commit. That real-time feedback saves you from those ugly puckers that show up after the first coat of mud.
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