Screw size needed for contiboard shelving?

[anon]

I'm going to build some shelving inside built in wardrobes and plan to buy the screws online, what size/type do I need?

many thanks,

K

[usenet]

We need more information!

How are you going to mount the shelves in the wardrobes? I can think of various methods:-

1 - Crude and simple Drive screws through holes in the wardrobe sides direct into the shelves. The disadvantage is that there are screw heads showing on the outside. Screw size - long enough to go through the wardrobe and give a reasonable depth into the shelves, say between 1.5 and 3cm depth.

2 - Better Put wooden battens inside the wardrobe to rest the shelves on. Screws need to be just shorter than the thickness of the batten plus the thickness of the wardrobe side.

3 - Carpenter method (!) Make slots (there's a proper word for this) in the wardrobe sides into which the shelvs fit. No need for screws at all except that the sides may move apart a little and then the shelves can drop out. (It'll weaken the wardrobe sides, probably not a good approach if it's chipboard)

4 - Standard 'home assembly' flat pack method. Get little plastic shelf supports that sit in 1/4" or thereabouts holes in the sides of the wardrobe and rest the shelves on these. No need for screws again.

As regards strength of screws, don't worry, any sane sized screw will be strong enough for this application. Just get them the right length so they don't stick right through but go deep enough to grip. As regards diameter I'd go for 4mm (I buy Screwfix metric ones) which in old 'guage' sizes is around number 8. I find that Screwfix Turbogold

3.5mm and 4mm screws cover just about all my requirements, with a few 5mm ones for really heavy stuff. (I do have some 6x100mm for fences). The Turbogold ones are also good in that they really don't need pilot holes in most materials and work OK (as well as any screw will) in chipboard and MDF.

[anon]

Doh, as I read my message I realised I'd missed out info. i'm planning to use thise little plastic supports with two holes in one direction and one in the other. I forget what they're called!

:(

K

[usenet]

OK, same sort of approach applies.

You need screws that will go through said little square plastic things and then as deep as possible into the wardrobe side without any risk of going right through.

I've used them quite a bit and, if I remember right, I used 3.5mm x

25mm screws for fixing to 18mm contiboard. I have some 4mm x 25mm as well which are useful if the 3.5mm ones pull out.

Mount the blocks so there are two screws in the wardrobe sides.

Do a test first somewhere that doesn't matter to check that the screws

*don't* go right through.

[stefek.zaba]

Aye. Go wild, treat yourself to a box-of-200 of each probably-relevant size. The contiboard will be 18mm, right? So probably-relevant lengths are 20mm, 25mm, and 30mm: go on, go wild and get some 35mms too. The joy of not sorting through your old-sweetie-tin selection of pre-used screws to find 16 screws all of the same guage, length, and head is well worth the, what, 8 quid for all 4 boxes. You're bound to find another

37quids' worth of stuff to buy from Screwfix/IsaacLord/Axminster to make it up to their no-extra-delivery-charge pricepoint ;-)

Stefek

[Lobster]

Or get them from

before the end of the month as they are still running their no-extra-delivery-charge-no-minimum-order-charge promotion. (Bet they must *really* love me at toolstation at the moment, the number of dinky orders I've sent them in the past month... hmm, need a new Stanley knife blade........ ! )

David

[Grunff]

Can I take this opportunity to do my contiboard rant?

What exactly is the point of it? I would be prepared to understand someone wanting to use the stuff despite its extreme ugliness if it offered some mechanical properties which were in some way superior to alternatives. But it seems to me that it is by far the least rigid sheet material you can buy - when comparing similar thickness. Even plain unclad chipboard seems to be stronger.

How and why do they make it so bendy, and what is it actually useful for?

[usenet]

I bought the biggest Screwfix Turbogold trade case a couple of years ago, £54 if I remember right, I now just refill the odd sizes I run out of. I've started replacing with stainless stell ones now. It's lovely to always have lots of exactly the right sized screws.

[usenet]

I agree in general, for shelves which are to carry any weight at all I always use wood if possible. The only real advantage that contiboard has is an immediately finished wipable surface. It's the 'TV supper' of DIY materials, quick to give you an 'acceptable' (or not) result but there are many, many ways of doing it better.

[N. Thornton]

chipboard is real weak stuff, thin screws tear it easily. The fatter the screws you can use the stronger with chip.

Regards, NT

[stuart noble]

news:...

Screwfix carcass screws are ideal for chip. They really do go an inch into the end grain without distortion.

[usenet]

More to the point you need parallel sided screws and ones with a deep thread, old fashioned plain steel woodscrews really don't work well in chipboard.