How to Choose Screws for Gypsum Board?
What Screws to Use When Working with Gypsum Board
When organizing gypsum board ceilings and partitions, it is recommended to join the profiles with special 9.5 mm screws with a drill bit (professionals call them "seeds").
There are the following screw sizes: 9.5 mm, 11 mm, 15 mm, 25 mm, 35 mm, 45 mm, 50 mm, 55 mm, 75 mm, 95 mm, 120 mm.
Figure 1 — How to Screw in a Screw
Screws for joining metal elements have fine threads, while wood is joined with screws with coarse threads.
For work with gypsum board, 25 mm screws without a drill bit are mostly used, as well as 9.5 mm screws with a drill bit and corresponding anchors. Less often, 35 mm and 45 mm screws without a drill bit are used.
A quite logical question: isn't it necessary to use screws with a drill bit since metal work is planned? Why exactly 25 mm?
The answer is quite simple. Since the profile often has a thickness of 0.8-1 mm, a regular screw can easily drill through such elements.
In addition to size, screws may differ in color. There is no significant difference in using screws of a particular color. Professionals recommend using white "seeds".
IMPORTANT! Standard GKL has dimensions of 120 by 250 cm, i.e. 3 m².
Screw Consumption
When calculating screw consumption, note that gypsum board is fastened every 50-70 cm.
Anchor for Gypsum Board
Gypsum board profiles are fastened with screws, and the screws in turn fasten anchors. On the photo below you can see:
- molly;
- impact anchor 6x60 with a cap;
- impact anchor 6x40 with a "brazing";
- metal anchor 6x40.
Photo 1 — Types of Anchors
IMPORTANT! In the specified dimensions, the following parameters are indicated: anchor 6x40 means an anchor with a diameter of 6 mm and a working length of 40 mm.
For fastening metal profiles to walls, professionals often use 6x40 anchors (the wall must be flat and plastered).
Anchors come with a "brazing" and with a cap. In practice, there is no significant difference in using one or another type of anchor. However, if you need to hide the anchor in a profile or gypsum board, it is better to use anchors with a "brazing".
Professionals sometimes have to mount gypsum board sheets on wall plaster, so anchors with a brazing are used so that the wall can be spackled without leaving marks.
In case there is polystyrene or stone wool between the gypsum board and the wall, longer anchors 6x80 are used for mounting sheets, as a working length of 40 mm is insufficient for these purposes.
Use metal anchors for mounting "Armstrong" ceiling suspensions. In all other cases, impact anchors are better to use.
Impact anchor, also known as a screw anchor, consists of a wedge anchor and a screw with a helical thread. For gypsum board ceiling structures, metal anchors such as MOLLY can also be used for hollow constructions.
Additionally, for quick mounting into gypsum boards, there is a plastic anchor DRIVA (can be installed without drilling, maximum load for such an anchor is 25 kg).
Bugle anchor - a special anchor for reliable mounting of fasteners in gypsum board for any needs: hanging pictures, shelves, interior elements. The principle of this anchor is that after being screwed into a hole, it expands like a butterfly, forming a strong support.
Photo 2 — Bugle Anchor
Screws for Gypsum Board: Price
Depending on the size of the screws, a package (100 pcs.) can cost from $0.5 to $8.
Plastic anchors are cheaper (around $1 per package), while metal ones cost significantly more (up to $10 per package).