Screws and Squeaks

[DanD]

Things are moving quite well with bulding my first tear. (I think : )
I am building a "Cubby" and want aluminum sides.

The walls are on and framed, bulkheads in place, and getting ready to wire it today.

Standing back and looking at the sides, I began to wonder about hundred or so drywall screws and how just one of them backing out would put a dimple in the aluminum....and no way to fix it.

Has anyone with an aluminum sided tear ever had this problem, or am I just being too cautious?

The second thought was about the insulation. I bought the blue foamboard from Home Depot.

Has anyone ever had this stuff squeak after it was installed. ( Like a styrofoam cooler )

I could just imagine trying to sleep and move a little and have one of the walls squeaking.

Dan

[Joseph]

The second thought was about the insulation. I bought the blue foamboard from Home Depot.
Has anyone ever had this stuff squeak after it was installed. ( Like a styrofoam cooler )

I used pink Foamular but it's pretty much the same when it comes to "squeakability." I glued it to both the inner and outer skin with PL Premium Construction Adhesive and if it ever squeaks it's because my teardrop has completely fallen apart which, barring accidents, I do not expect to happen in my lifetime.

Joseph

[Arne]

If the screws are properly seated, rarely will they back out, becuase the wood fibers are grabbing all the irregularities in the crappy screws.

Most backouts are nuts/bolts holding metal together.

[Woody]

I had the fine thread drywall screws which are meant for metal stud applications pop out on other project in the past. If over torqued they had a tendency to strip the screw hole and then pop out with vibration or flexing of material. I have seen the coarse thread meant for wooden studs also pop out. Usually it was because over torque caused the screw to break on the install then back out with time. Just remember that those tempered screws have no lateral shear strength. I used foam in my teardop without glue and have noticable noise. The noise sounds to me like something has alot of flex in it which is causing the sound. The teardrop shape is a rather rigid shape. It also could be the way the floor is attached to the frame. Possibly the sidewall attached to the floor. Some times doors that are cut to low sometimes allow the walls to flex,by weaken the structural integrity of the plywood sidewall. Maybe the trailer is flexing due to weight and movement. How thick is your floor on your trailer?

Woody

[DanD]

I had the fine thread drywall screws which are meant for metal stud applications pop out

Thats what I was afraid of. I really didn't know the difference between the fine thread and coarse thread drywall screws. Relating to fine thread bolts, you can tighten the dickens out of a fine thread bolt. I was using fine thread through about 2/3 of the assembly and most felt mushy going it and really didn't feel tight. I have been using a variable speed drill set to a very low speed. I started using coarse thread and they felt much better going in and tightening up.

I guess my best bet to keep them from backing out is to remove them and replace with course thread and a little "monkey" glue. PITA, but at least there won't be any dimples in the aluminum.

I glued it to both the inner and outer skin with PL Premium Construction Adhesive and if it ever squeaks it's because my teardrop has completely fallen apart

Did you leave a small gap between the Foamular and the wood braces or did you cut it for a tight fit?

Dan

[Arne]

Did you countersink the holes?

I can understand broken heads popping out, but I've never had screws back out, and I've used for just about everything under the sun.

[DanD]

Did you countersink the holes?

Yes I did.

Maybe I'm just being paraniod. I own an all aluminum trailer and it is pretty easy to ding it. I could putty over the holes as added insurance so they dont move.

Dan

[Larry Messaros]

Standing back and looking at the sides, I began to wonder about hundred or so drywall screws and how just one of them backing out would put a dimple in the aluminum....and no way to fix it.

Dan, personally I prefer using either plywood screws or subfloor screws. They are not as brittle as drywall screws. There should be no problem with any type of screw backing out.

The benefit to the plywood or subfloor screws is that you will never break them and you don't have to countersink them. Also you don't spend a half hour at the end of the day pulling out metal slivers!

Has anyone ever had this stuff squeak after it was installed. ( Like a styrofoam cooler )

On my camper I used beadboard (EPS, the white stuff) and I had no problems with it ever squeeking. I didn't even glue my insulation, they were just pressure fit. In my next trailer I will be doing like Joseph and use some construction adhesive to hold the insulation in place.

[Eric Adams]

If the screws are properly seated, rarely will they back out, becuase the wood fibers are grabbing all the irregularities in the crappy screws.

Most backouts are nuts/bolts holding metal together.

I know they make nails coated in glue so that the heat of nailing them in actually melts the gle and seals it in place, do they make screws like this???