graduate_owner
Established Member
Regarding screws, basic bzp pozidrive screws from Screwfix do the job but are not good for outside work - to be fair, they do say this in the catalogue - they rust quite quickly. For exterior use, I use stainless steel but have found them to be not as strong as bzp and I have had a few shear off. I bought a selection pack of torx headed screws from Axminster on a special offer and they are brilliant, but haven't tried them on exterior work yet. What I really like about torx is once the bit is in proper contact with the screw head it really grips so you don't get cam out. This is really useful if you are working in an awkward space where you can't exert pressure on the screwdriver.
So overall I would say get a good selection of bzp for interior work - cheap and cheerful from the likes of Screwfix. It is surprising how quickly you can get through a pack of 100 screws. You will probably need from 1" through to 2 1/2" in quantities of at least 200, then 3/4", 3", 3 1/4" and perhaps 4" in packs of 100. (I bought a selection box on offer from Screwfix - again !!! - in a good sturdy steel carrying case for less than the cost of the actual screws).
Then get some stainless steel if you anticipate exterior work, and some torx head screws for use when pozi won't do, but for the stainless steel and torx, just get the common sizes (100 each of 8x1, 8 x 1 1/2, and 8 x 2 say, or whatever the metric equivalent is) as initial stock, and add to it as needed.
Keep an eye out for special offers though, ( not necessarily Screwfix - I know many people don't like to deal with them, although they have a good reputation when it comes to returning stuff). The ones I bought have a really good selection of sizes, it's not a case of loads of sizes you never use just to shift them off the shelves. And a carrying case means you can just grab and go if you are working away from home - just remember to top up from your boxes of 200.
My 2p worth anyway. Will cost a bit more than 2p though.
K
So overall I would say get a good selection of bzp for interior work - cheap and cheerful from the likes of Screwfix. It is surprising how quickly you can get through a pack of 100 screws. You will probably need from 1" through to 2 1/2" in quantities of at least 200, then 3/4", 3", 3 1/4" and perhaps 4" in packs of 100. (I bought a selection box on offer from Screwfix - again !!! - in a good sturdy steel carrying case for less than the cost of the actual screws).
Then get some stainless steel if you anticipate exterior work, and some torx head screws for use when pozi won't do, but for the stainless steel and torx, just get the common sizes (100 each of 8x1, 8 x 1 1/2, and 8 x 2 say, or whatever the metric equivalent is) as initial stock, and add to it as needed.
Keep an eye out for special offers though, ( not necessarily Screwfix - I know many people don't like to deal with them, although they have a good reputation when it comes to returning stuff). The ones I bought have a really good selection of sizes, it's not a case of loads of sizes you never use just to shift them off the shelves. And a carrying case means you can just grab and go if you are working away from home - just remember to top up from your boxes of 200.
My 2p worth anyway. Will cost a bit more than 2p though.
K
