---
title: "Screw — which one for which job"
description: "10 answers on choosing the right screw for the material, with the reason behind each and what fails."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which/screw/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Screw

10 materials and what works on each.

| For | Use | First alternative |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wood | A pilot hole matching the screw's core diameter in the lower piece and a clearance hole in the upper one — that is what makes a joint tight. | Part-threaded screw |
| Decking | Stainless steel — 304 inland, 316 near the coast — or a screw specifically rated for modern treated timber, which eats ordinary zinc plating. | A4 (316) stainless |
| Masonry | A concrete screw into a precisely sized hole, or a plug and screw — and hollow block needs a different anchor entirely. | Nylon plug and screw |
| Plasterboard | Coarse-thread bugle-head drywall screws into timber studs, fine-thread into metal studs — and never use them for anything structural. | Fine-thread drywall screw |
| MDF | A straight-shank MDF screw with a parallel thread, always into a pilot hole — the edge splits without one. | Standard woodscrew |
| Sheet metal | A self-drilling (Tek) screw with a drill point matched to the material thickness, or a self-tapping screw into a correctly sized pilot hole. | Self-tapping screw into a pilot hole |
| Chipboard | A twin-thread chipboard screw with an unthreaded shank under the head, so it pulls the joint together instead of bursting the board. | Screw with an unthreaded shank |
| Plastic | A thread-forming screw designed for plastic, or a heat-set threaded insert where the joint will be undone more than once. | Heat-set threaded insert |
| Roofing sheets | A hex-head screw with a bonded EPDM washer, driven until the washer just spreads — no further. | Stainless with EPDM washer |
| Brass hardware | Cut the thread with a steel screw of the same size first, wax the brass one, and use a driver that fits the slot exactly. | Wax or soap on the thread |

- [Which screw and pilot hole should I use for wood?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-wood/) — A pilot hole matching the screw's core diameter in the lower piece and a clearance hole in the upper one — that is what makes a joint tight.
- [Which screw should I use for decking?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-decking/) — Stainless steel — 304 inland, 316 near the coast — or a screw specifically rated for modern treated timber, which eats ordinary zinc plating.
- [Which screw should I use in masonry?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-masonry/) — A concrete screw into a precisely sized hole, or a plug and screw — and hollow block needs a different anchor entirely.
- [Which screw should I use for plasterboard?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-plasterboard/) — Coarse-thread bugle-head drywall screws into timber studs, fine-thread into metal studs — and never use them for anything structural.
- [Which screw should I use in MDF?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-mdf/) — A straight-shank MDF screw with a parallel thread, always into a pilot hole — the edge splits without one.
- [Which screw should I use for sheet metal?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-sheet-metal/) — A self-drilling (Tek) screw with a drill point matched to the material thickness, or a self-tapping screw into a correctly sized pilot hole.
- [Which screw should I use in chipboard?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-chipboard/) — A twin-thread chipboard screw with an unthreaded shank under the head, so it pulls the joint together instead of bursting the board.
- [Which screw should I use in plastic?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-plastic/) — A thread-forming screw designed for plastic, or a heat-set threaded insert where the joint will be undone more than once.
- [Which screw should I use for roofing sheets?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-roofing/) — A hex-head screw with a bonded EPDM washer, driven until the washer just spreads — no further.
- [How do I drive brass screws without snapping them?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-brass-hardware/) — Cut the thread with a steel screw of the same size first, wax the brass one, and use a driver that fits the slot exactly.