screws for hanging and attaching cabinets....

[Justin Jump]

what's the standard for this nowadays?

when I did my last kitchen, I used drywall screws and those round washers that you can buy to give it a semi finished look for cabinets to walls, and used the same screws for face frame to face frame.

I've read a few posts about trim head screws being used now for face frames to face frames, and washer head screws for cabinets to walls.

However, being maple, painted, and the fact that I will always be at this house, I want to make sure that I hang and attache these ones right, and try to avoid any splitting of the maple also.

THX

[George Bokros]

There are screws specifically sold for hanging cabinets. They have them at both big box stores.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/cabinet%2520screws?NCNI-5


(http://www.homedepot.com/s/cabinet%2520screws?NCNI-5)

[Randy Red Bemont]

I get washer head screws in the #10 size from McFeely's. Great screws.

Red

[Larry Frank]

I have used GRK washer head screws made for this at the big orange store.

Since I hang cabinets by myself, I use a French cleat. For the face frames I use the face frame clamps and drill and countersink for assembly screws. I end up using a ton of clamps to get all of the cabinets aligned and it takes me way too long. But, I want them aligned good as possible as I will notice any little thing.

[Peter Kelly]

Spax T-Star washer head screws are also available at HD. http://www.spax.us/en/power-lags/t-star-washer-head.html
Wasn’t aware that they’d started selling GRK fasteners.

Takes a bit of planning but the ideal method for hanging long rows of upper cases is the J-Rail system: http://goo.gl/f6u9AB


There's also the Avinom system that Häfele carries.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9TgyOPeW3U

[Jim Dwight]

I think these are all great suggestions. I want to just add that the purpose of the screw is to pull the cabinet tight to the drywall, not hold the weight of the cabinet. Friction between the cabinet and wallboard are what holds it up, not the screw. The washer head is to prevent the head pulling through the presumed 1/4 thick back. If you use a 3/4 hanging strip or a thicker cabinet back, you don't necessarily need a washer head screw. I like to use hanging strips and sometimes no back (the wall board needs to look OK if you're omitting a back and it's best to paint it before hanging the cabinet).

[mreza Salav]

Drywall screws are not proper for cabinet installations. I use the following:
http://www.richelieu.com/ca/en/category/screws-and-fasteners/screws/wood-screws/cabinet-installation-screws-zinc-plated/1010056/sku-916813?data=1&fr=ach

It works well with the following cap system:

http://www.richelieu.com/ca/en/category/tools-safety-and-workshop-accessories/tools/tool-accessories/drill-accessories/wood-drill-bits/flushmount-drill-bit-replacement-bit/1009982/sku-916917?data=1&fr=ach
http://www.richelieu.com/ca/en/category/tools-safety-and-workshop-accessories/tools/tool-accessories/screws-and-fasteners/screw-kit/powerhead-screw-kit/1010058/sku-914460 (http://www.richelieu.com/ca/en/category/tools-safety-and-workshop-accessories/tools/tool-accessories/drill-accessories/wood-drill-bits/flushmount-drill-bit-replacement-bit/1009982/sku-916917?data=1&fr=ach)

[John TenEyck]

I just finished a kitchen. I used GRK Cabinet screws to hang the cabinets and their Trim Head screws for screwing the face frames together. The star head design means no cam out.

John

[Erik Christensen]

fastcap screws work great for me - http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/PowerHead-Screws-Metal-p13284.htm

and this gizmo lets you countersink perfectly every time - https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/FlushMount-Drill-Bit-17p15.htm

cover head with a peel & stick wood cover finished to match the cabinet case and they are invisible

[mreza Salav]

hehehe... I guess you didn't check the links I posted above.


fastcap screws work great for me - http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/PowerHead-Screws-Metal-p13284.htm

and this gizmo lets you countersink perfectly every time - https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/FlushMount-Drill-Bit-17p15.htm

cover head with a peel & stick wood cover finished to match the cabinet case and they are invisible

[Brian Holcombe]

Drywall screws are not rated for load. Planning around static load is one thing, but there are many events in the life of a cabinet which will test the pull-out strength of your fasteners, so I think its good to plan around fasteners which can handle a severe load.

[Kent A Bathurst]

^^^ Exactly what Brian says^^^^

Drywall screws [and deck screws] have doodly-squat for shear strength.

But they are cheap and easy to use.

"I may be lost, but I'm making good time" is not a valid strategy.

[Jim Dwight]

Actually drywall screws are pretty strong in shear but they are deliberately hard and don't use real good steel and so they break without a lot of torque occasionally. If you don't think they are strong in shear, put something together with them and try to break it apart. The wood will give up before the screws do. But better screws are fine by me. I prefer to use them for this too.

But those thinking they are absolutely necessary may need to hear the story of my cabinet in Pittsburgh over 20 years ago. I was replacing all the cabinets in the kitchen one or a few (depending on the spot) at a time. I came to an upper about 3 feet wide that held all our day-to-day glasses and bowls and plates and such. It had well over a hundred pounds of stuff in it. When I went to take it down, the drywall screw was rusted through on one side. So the whole thing was hanging on one drywall screw. Neither the cabinet or the screw was up to that but the cabinet was tight to the wall and friction held it up. The other screw rusted off because some genius put it into the soil stack from the bathrooms upstairs. So I got to fix that hole too. The replacement was fastened to two studs top and bottom. I think I used better screws but I might not have. But the screws went through hanger strips of 3/4 plywood. So the connection was solid.

Using a really good screw through a back of 1/4 plywood makes no sense to me. Plywood will fail long before any screw does.

[Martin Wasner]

I use this (http://www.grkfasteners.com/index.php/en/products-mobile/r4-mobile) in 3-1/8"

GRK makes the absolute best fasteners.

[Peter Quinn]

For hanging, I like washer head screws, GRK's are my favorite. I want something designed to not pull through. I use 1/2" backs on most boxes, occasionally 3/4" on something huge that needs the help, I've never put a 1/4" back on in my life. If color is an issue I paint the screw heads. For connecting face frames......I just don't build that way. The beauty of a custom cabinet build is how seamless everything turns out. None of those double stile slapped and screwed together awkward big box store stock cabinets look. Its a challenge dealign with something as large as a 10' run of uppers, usually takes more than one person to move around. Sometimes it require construction breaks that get finished in the field, break fronts that provide architectural interest and jog a long run so it has a place to connect it. We do them with FF intersections that tongue and groove into each other, sometimes a FF will be connected to the box on the left and right, the rails only to the box in the middle so the run can be connected in the field if its going to get too heavy or long. Domino's facilitate this considerably. It takes a lot of thought, some planning, and occasionally a bit of creativity, but you can build an entire kitchen where no face frames get screwed together. I'd rather do full overlay frameless than have a bunch of little boxes screwed together so it looks like kraftmade.

[Leo Graywacz]

I've been using the yellow colored deck screws for a long time now. They match the color of a maple interior pretty well. I countersink the hole ever so slightly just to get it started. Then I make it flush to the 1/2" plywood back. Never had a failure, never had a cabinet come down.

3 1/8" is to long a screw for installing cabinets in a normal situation. If you have a 1/2" back a 2 1/2" screw is long enough Any more and you might find something in the stud that you wish you hadn't. On lowers I use 2" screws. Only need to hold it to the wall, the floor is doing the rest of the work.

[Martin Wasner]

I've been using the yellow colored deck screws for a long time now. They match the color of a maple interior pretty well. I countersink the hole ever so slightly just to get it started. Then I make it flush to the 1/2" plywood back. Never had a failure, never had a cabinet come down.

3 1/8" is to long a screw for installing cabinets in a normal situation. If you have a 1/2" back a 2 1/2" screw is long enough Any more and you might find something in the stud that you wish you hadn't. On lowers I use 2" screws. Only need to hold it to the wall, the floor is doing the rest of the work.

If you're going to hit something at 1½" of penetration with a 2½" screw, pretty sure that extra 5/8" isn't going to hurt you with a 3-1/8" screw. I'll take the extra purchase.

[Justin Jump]

Jim......"my cabinet in Pittsburgh over 20 years ago".....

Was this my house?

When I pulled down one of the old wall cabinets, this was a wall cabinet directly to the right of my sink, the back was covered in mold, and so was the drywall. I pulled the drywall off and all over the back of that was mold.

The cabinet, along with drywall screws 8" on center, were all screwed into the stack, and everytime the toilet was flushed, assuming for the last 30 years, small squirts of water, and yeah other stuff, leaked out those little holes each time......

I clearly marked the wall for this time around, don't want that again.

JJ in Pittsburgh





Actually drywall screws are pretty strong in shear but they are deliberately hard and don't use real good steel and so they break without a lot of torque occasionally. If you don't think they are strong in shear, put something together with them and try to break it apart. The wood will give up before the screws do. But better screws are fine by me. I prefer to use them for this too.

But those thinking they are absolutely necessary may need to hear the story of my cabinet in Pittsburgh over 20 years ago. I was replacing all the cabinets in the kitchen one or a few (depending on the spot) at a time. I came to an upper about 3 feet wide that held all our day-to-day glasses and bowls and plates and such. It had well over a hundred pounds of stuff in it. When I went to take it down, the drywall screw was rusted through on one side. So the whole thing was hanging on one drywall screw. Neither the cabinet or the screw was up to that but the cabinet was tight to the wall and friction held it up. The other screw rusted off because some genius put it into the soil stack from the bathrooms upstairs. So I got to fix that hole too. The replacement was fastened to two studs top and bottom. I think I used better screws but I might not have. But the screws went through hanger strips of 3/4 plywood. So the connection was solid.

Using a really good screw through a back of 1/4 plywood makes no sense to me. Plywood will fail long before any screw does.