How to Choose Screws | Screw Size Guide

Do you know how to select the correct screw for your home projects? The wrong choice could cost you time and money. Use this video as a guide to help you decide whether to DIY or hire a guy.

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Get tagged: choosing screws, selecting screws, screw size guide

[blindluck]

That’s a minute and 10 seconds of my life I’ll never get back. What a waste of time

[Yvessam]

Soooo how do you choose?
They skip the most important parts

[CricketWocky]

"it's only 1:10 and the title would indicate it's straight to the point, why the extreme dislike ratio"
>Watches video
I hope your house gets haunted by rotting shrimp for this waste of my phone data

[arsaeterna]

IS YOUR EXPLANATION:
ASK A PROFESSIONAL FOR HELP?!

[augustklein]

You need to consider what material you are screwing into and how thick it is. In this case it looks like wood. You may want the screw to stick out the back or not. You also need to consider if it will be for inside (dry and out of the weather) or outside where rain or weather may cause corrosion faster.

[DonMoore]

Kayleen this is some great information as most people won't choose the correct fastener for the job. Just because you cannot find the correct fastener at the big box store does not mean the item isn't made. Think through the entire project as most times the correct fastener can mean the difference between a good job and a great one!

[dsgeyer]

I did like the Michael Bay handheld camera :07 😂

[warplanner]

I cannot imagine her and the advertising crew getting through the making of this video without breaking down in gales of laughter at least - oh - fifty or sixty times. Epic double entendre.

[carneeki]

No mention of TPI for materials or thickness of materials. This is kind of important for thin sections, if there isn't enough thread engagement, the screw will just pull out.
No mention of which diameters to suit what sort of load strengths.
It's spelled and pronounced "Torx" not "torque", and that square heads are also called "Robertson drive".
Spent most of the video watching fluff about "after you've chosen the screw", rather than how to actually choose the screw itself.

I rarely thumbs down, and when I do, I tend to give a reason why. For this video there are plenty.

[bp]

You can't say hire a 'guy' in this day and age.

[JamesSmith-gksz]

Thank you Kayleen for providing zero helpful information. How you managed to not even bother watching this after you were the star, and realize immediately you've given *nothing* for people in need of actually time try and help the audience, not pretend to be a "Home Advisor".

For the rest of the people floundering in the comment section, here's some hard and fast advice I can give you. Thought this video would help me answer a "specialty fastener" question, and was beyond worthless, so I'll make it "worthwhile" to the rest of you.

1.) When you walk into the hardware store, you need to come with an understanding of what two types of material you're trying to connect. Wood to wood, metal to metal, plastic to plastic, wood to metal, plastic to what you're looking for. Most screw packages will say right on the front side what it's use is.

2.) Length - For optimal hold, you want the screw length to be completely through the first layer of material and *halfway* minimum through the second material you're connecting to. It's important to try and measure, sketch, or make a note before you arrive at the store what length that will be, even approximately. If it's multiple layers of material, whatever the last layer is you're trying to connect to needs to be penetrated at least halfway.

3.) Thickness - this comes more into how much *weight* the screw needs to hold. Since this discussion strictly pertains to "screws with points", I'll avoid broaching the topic of machine screws which can be used to fasten materials via washers and nuts. Essentially, the wider the shank of the screw, the more it can hold. The package will also tell you (most of the time) what weight it will hold.
*Golden rule of thumb* when picking weight is as follows: Always go triple the weight retention rating if it's something people interact with, walk on, pull on, or use regularly. Physics dictates that the force multiplied by someone yanking, stepping on, or bumping something can be up to three times what the recommended screw "might be", so save yourself a hassle and go up three sizes and never worry about it again.

4.) Coating - If you need to connect to pieces of material that will be exposes to extreme heat, cold, or moisture, take that into consideration. The most hardcore coating possible is called a "hot dipped galvanized" coating that can withstand nearly anything outside. Standard is zinc, and the most fragile is regular aluminum or steel.

5.) RESEARCH! There are a billion and one Youtube videos of people doing specific projects. Try and find the one you're doing, and see if said person makes mention of what screw, bolt, lag, they're using and why. Will save you a ton of time.

[vace]

"You need to determine the correct screw length!"... alright moving on! ???? What a waste of time.

[hankhomaomes]

damn i got screwed over here and wasted 1m.10secs of my life .

[Earthsky]

So her great advice is to ask somebody? all know that will likely be a man.

[joshyoung]

What an absolutely pointless video. All insufferable presenter and no information.