Screws for cypress, outdoor use?

[Eric DeSilva]

I just picked up a bunch of cypress for some adirondack chairs. Anyone have any words of wisdom on which screws would be best? I'd like to avoid the black bleeding you sometimes see in outdoor furniture. Brass? Stainless steel? Something else?

[Tim Thomas]

I think stainless steel would do quite well. Also, if you counterbore the screw holes and then cover them with cypress plugs that should keep water from getting to them at all.

[Jim Becker]

I use stainless steel for this application.

[Eric DeSilva]

Thanks, stainless always seems safe. Perhaps not quite as pretty as brass, but it still has a nice look. Thanks for the input.

[Dennis Peacock]

Eric,

I have firsthand experience with this exact thing. I used goo quality stainless steel screws on my chairs and they've held up very well over the past 3 years. I ordered mine from McFeely's.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

SST and nothing else.

[fred woltersdorf]

i built two adirondack chairs out of cypress 3 yrs ago. i used ss square drive screws from mcfeelys. still look as good as when i built them.

[Doug Shepard]

I used SS nuts/bolts & screws on a picnic table that's outside year round. They're still shiny after 3 years. I think McFeeleys has some silicon/bronze for exterior use that look a bit more like a brass color but I've never used them.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Check locally for GRK fasteners. I just built an ipe deck with their stainless trim head screws. Of 1500+ screws I broke/stripped fewer than 8. By the time you pay shipping you might just get the GRK locally for same or better price.

They have a wide variety of heads, lengths, etc.

[Joe Scharle]

SS and BTW get a catalog from McFeelys. It's much more than a price list with articles throughout that give a real education on fasteners.