I put my first piece of hardie board down in my bathroom. The problem have is the screws are not going flush with the hardie board. The store said to use drywall screws.
I am using a power drill to do the screwing. It's powerful enough to drill the same screws flush in plywood.
I could countersink but it seems that that hurt the strength of the board.
Do not use drywall screws. There are screws suited specifically for different types of cement board. There are several types available at Home Depot depending on the brand of board.
Find another store, and buy cement board screws. The might still stick up just a hair, but this won't be a problem for tile, because the heads will still be way under the thickness of the thin-set.
The James Hardie website seems to like ring shank nails or 18 gauge staples for anchoring it down. I always send nails flying trying to hand nail any fiber cement product.
JK
Screwing it is the easy part, cutting it is the bitch. Use special screws designed for Hardy. Cut with a grinder with a diamond blade, and cover your mouth with a dust mask.
Futhermore, there are molded in areas for the screws that are slightly below the surface of the board. You're supposed to use those areas so the screw heads don't protrude.
There are special knives that work much better and cause less dust. Cement dust is very bad for your lungs or eyes.
The right screws countersink themselves, They have little blades on the underside of the heads. Either the OP is using the wrong screws or his driver doesnt have enough power to sink them. Also he could be drilling into some 80 year old yellow pine like I was. Each hole had to be predrilled. I thought about using an impact drill but was afraid it would split the age hardened wood.
Jimmie
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