Heavily recommend always supporting with studs. Just a simple 1" (actually 3/4") thick board between the studs will be far more supportive than drywall.
Also don't use drywall screws for anything other than drywall. Use torx screws when putting wood to wood/studs.
Yep. Just put in a range hood and the spacing for the mounting screws wouldn't allow for attaching to studs (maybe one if you were lucky, but I was specifically mounting it so the duct would go up between two joists (ie: between two studs).
It came with some big screw-in drywall anchors, but I just sucked it up and cut drywall, put in a bit of 2x4 horizontally between the two studs, patched, and screwed into that. Peace of mind was worth the extra day of dicking around with drywall.
Torx is a type of driver and head, not a type of screw. You can buy 'Torx' screws for sheet metal, drywall, wood, or just about anything else, so just looking at the head is not a good idea.
I think what you're trying to recommend are quality construction type screws like Spax or GRK with Torx heads.
Spax or GRK make fantastic screws, but after using Robertson-drive screws all my life, Torx honestly sucks, for the simple reason that the screws don't stay on the bit very well. They will never strip out, but nothing holds the screw onto the bit except the magnet, so starting a screw one-handed is a bit finicky.
However, Robertson drive is a tapered square, which means the bit will lock into the screw with friction, and it can take quite a lot of force to separate them. To illustrate my point, I can put a Robertson screw on a drill, then hold onto the screw and swing the drill around without it falling.
Robertson and Torx are definitely better than philips.
The two have their own pros and cons though. Robertson definitely makes it easier to keep the screw on a bit. On the other hand, if you've ever had to work with stainless screws and a harder wood (somewhat common in quality built outdoor stuff), I'll take torx any day due to the decreased stripping risk.
Overall though both are still significant improvements over philips and slotted drives!
Philips drive is only good for drywall screws, because the cam-out is a feature. Robertson is ubiquitous in Canada; anything produced in or for the Canadian market tends to use it, and Philips is mostly only found in imported products. Although Tprx is getting more common for stuff like screwing down a subfloor or a deck.
I've slowly been replacing the original outlets in my 70s house, and for some reason they only used slotted drive screws, for everything.
It is way too easy to strip a philips head screw going into wood, so maybe they did mean torx head?
Most of the torx screws you'll find in boxes at a hardware store are deck screws anyway (at least around here), which are really good for attaching wood to wood. Good to be careful though.
A tip it took me too long to learn: using an impact driver will make it easier to avoid stripping Phillips screws than using a drill/driver. The way the impact driver delivers impulses at high torque just makes it easier to keep the bit properly engaged, since it kind of "resets" between each impact. The effect was so dramatic to me that the frustration saved was more than worth the cost of a mid-range cordless impact driver.
But a lot of carpenters do prefer square or torx drive just to avoid the whole problem.
I honestly hadn't thought about this, will give it a shot. I have a decent impact driver that came with my drill, and hardly ever use it. Thanks for the tip!
(although I will keep buying torx screws for the most part :D)
I generally agree with you about studs; I don't trust drywall anchors and think they're overused. I hadn't thought about what you're saying regarding putting in another stud, but it's a good idea.
Having said that, that doesn't always work. I've been working on a project the last few months to add something that's missing from a bathroom, and the way the room is configured it's difficult to add something where it needs to be for ergonomic/access reasons without using anchors. To add a stud you'd have to take out quite a bit of wall in adjoining room and the whole project would start to seem excessive.
I've noticed the drywall in that area of our house, too, is really unusual, or at least I'm unfamiliar with it. It's like regular drywall but with an added layer of relatively strong plaster over the surface. It makes the anchors there more secure than what I'm used to (although I'm worried the apparent strength is deceptive).
> I've noticed the drywall in that area of our house, too, is really unusual, or at least I'm unfamiliar with it. It's like regular drywall but with an added layer of relatively strong plaster over the surface.
Someone likely had the wall "floated" to either fix some wonkiness in the drywall without tearing it down, covering up something like old wallpaper, etc etc. It's a fairly common thing to do to drywall.
Yes this is a standard thing to do, often called "blocking". Either the framing carpenter or the plumber should do it in new construction. For old work, it's possible to cut out only the drywall where the blocking will be placed, and fasten using screws driven diagonally into the adjoining studs.
Also don't use drywall screws for anything other than drywall. Use torx screws when putting wood to wood/studs.