The installation of the roof of a private house or building is a responsible event, the quality of which quite often determines the durability and strength of the structure as a whole. A roof laid with violations of technology in the first season sometimes begins to collapse. And the reason for this may be not only the roofing material itself, but also the fasteners used, which are responsible for the reliability of the fastening of the coating. Today, the most affordable, reliable and popular are roofing screws, the price and dimensions of which vary significantly.
Roofing screws
This is an advanced model of metal screws with its own specific application. They are distinguished by a sharp tip designed for drilling holes for fasteners directly during the installation of the roof, without first drilling it with any tool on all fastened elements.
For each type of building materials and type of rafter system, its own roofing screws are required: with a polymer coating or without it, screws with different threads, type of head and tip.
In some cases, for connecting metal and wood panels, a roofing screw with a drill is used, which allows for the destruction of metal during drilling.
To perform certain installation works, roofing self-tapping screws are specially designed, the complete set of which includes a metal washer with a rubber gasket. Such fasteners with sealing washers more tightly press the roofing material to the structure, provide a tight connection and prevent the penetration of moisture into the joints of the parts, preventing corrosion on them.
How to choose high-quality roofing screws
Today, the building materials market offers a huge number of fasteners. But not all products are of good quality and can last a long and reliable time. When choosing self-tapping screws, you should not buy the first products that come across. First of all, when choosing, you should decide for what specific purposes they are purchased, what specific features are the structures they fasten (made of wood, metal or combined), find out what roofing screws should measure. Then you need to evaluate the quality of the products. Branded fastenings on the hat are marked (brand). In addition, a rubber product must be present on a quality product that fits snugly against the metal washer. It should be borne in mind that in cheap self-tapping screws they are made of low quality rubber, which over time will begin to lose properties and will crack under the influence of temperature changes, which can lead to leakage in the fastening points.
To choose a quality self-tapping screw, you just need to squeeze the washer with pliers - the paint should not burst. The rubber washer should fit snugly against the metal.
Specifications
As a rule, a roofing screw is made of carbon steel and galvanized. Thanks to the anti-corrosion coating, these products last quite a long time - up to 50 years. The market also presents stainless steel hardware, which are used in critical areas requiring increased strength. They cost much more.
Roofing self-tapping screws for metal tiles differ in the shape of the cap, which can be:
- A standard type, that is, adapted for a screwdriver.
- With faces. To work with such hardware special bits are used.
Depending on the roofing material, the hats of the screws can, so to speak, sink in the coating or press it.
Among the huge variety of options, you can always choose the appropriate fasteners, the length of which exactly corresponds to the wavelength of the roofing sheets.
What roofing screws can measure?
The size of the screws for mounting the roof is chosen depending on the characteristics of the materials being fastened.
- For fastening metal tiles, roofing screws 4.8 mm are considered the most optimal. Length may vary depending on installation location. For example, for fastening sheets with wooden structures on a supporting frame, depending on the lathing, the length for high-quality and reliable fastening should be 28-35 mm. Roof sheets can be connected with fasteners with a length of 20 mm, and for fixing additional elements you will need products whose length is 50-70 mm.
- For fixing corrugated board, due to its size, it may be necessary to use self-tapping screws with a large diameter, for example, up to 6.3 mm and with a sufficiently wide range of lengths (20-250 mm).
- A 5.5 mm roofing screw is used to fasten corrugated board and metal tiles to a metal substructure, the thickness of which is up to 5.0 mm.
Weight, price and expense
A thousand standard self-tapping screws (size 4.8 × 28 mm) weigh 5.23 kg. The price range of products is wide enough. The cost most often depends on the manufacturer, the quality of the products and their dimensions. Today, the most rational and demanded are roofing screws, the price of which is 2 rubles.
Many are interested in how many pieces of hardware will be needed to securely fasten 1 sheet of roofing material. There is no standard answer to this question, because for different materials their quantity can vary significantly. For example, the consumption of roofing screws on 1 m 2 corrugated board - from 5 to 8 pieces. Self-tapping screws for metal tiles have more consumption - you need about 8-10 pieces.
Kinds
There are 2 types of fasteners:
- Roofing wood screws. They have a rare thread, it is very difficult to screw them into the metal.
- For metal . They are distinguished by frequent carvings, they are larger in diameter and do not hold well in wood, therefore they are practically not used for wooden structures.
Wood screws
Roofing wood screws will be needed if you need to attach a metal tile to a wooden crate on the roof. The product for sealing the drilled hole is equipped with a special washer and is equipped with a rubber gasket that performs a waterproofing function. For convenience, the tip of such fasteners is equipped with a drill. The main difference between wood screws and metal products is the shape of the tip (drill) and the pitch of the thread.
The main dimensions of a roofing screw on wood are as follows:
Such fasteners can be used both for mounting metal to a wooden crate, and for stitching sheets together (or use specially designed sizes: a roofing screw 4.8x20 mm).
If it is necessary to fix the ridge level or the snow retainer, it is necessary to use products of a greater length - 4.8x70 mm or 4.8x60 mm.
Metal screws
Used if the roof lathing is made of a metal profile.
The main dimensions of a metal roofing screw are:
- for drilling metal with a thickness of not more than 3 mm, a product 4.8x19 mm is used;
- for metal up to 6 mm thick, a size of 5.5x25 mm is required;
- roofing self-tapping screw 5.5x35 and 5.5x50 mm is able to drill metal, the thickness of which is up to 12 mm.
Painted roofing screws
Designed to connect painted metal roof elements to the frame of the base of the roof of wood or metal. This type of fastener differs only in the presence of a color similar to that of the metal profile fixed by it.
Self-tapping screws for mounting corrugated board
When using them, there is no need for pre-drilling holes with a drill. These fasteners are easy to mount to a supporting structure up to 12.5 mm thick. However, the corrugated board itself should not exceed 1.5 mm in thickness. The maximum tightness at the point of contact with the metal provides a rubber gasket. And the use of self-tapping screws with a polymer coating will allow you to create a more aesthetic appearance, since the fasteners will merge with the general appearance of the roofing.
Screws with a drill
Such fasteners have a bored end. They are intended for drilling through holes in a metal corrugated board during installation, without using a separate drill. This mount is equipped with a metal washer with a rubber gasket, which seals the junction as much as possible.
Despite the fact that self-tapping screws are small fasteners, they perform a very important function: they are responsible for the reliability and durability of fastening the entire roof. It is on their quality that the resistance of the roofing to all the vagaries of the weather will largely depend. Otherwise, it can simply “fly away” at the first storm.