I’ve been meaning to pick up some GRK Cabinet and Trim Screws for awhile. Finally found a yard that carries them. The pricing on these seem relatively comparable in price to McFeelys, etc.
However, just regular flat heads #9 2.5″, #9 and #10 3.5, etc – I could buy twice the quantity from McFeelys than the GRK ones…..well, it doesn’t help that the lumberyard is charging GRK list as well.
Anyone else looking for a good screw 🙂
Love to hear ya thoughts on the GRK’s for those that have used them….
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Replies
I use them alot. They are a good fastener. I use alot of 8" for screwing load bearing beams together. I use 4" for screwing new door brick mold to the new houses frame.
Replacing the lag bolt pretty quick in a lot of cases.
When I grow up I want to be like Riverman!
when i can plan ahead i always order GRK..
the torx head drives so much easier than even a square drive #2
we did try one thta used a #10 torx.. but that was a little too small for driving hard
the #9 use a #15 torx and they're great
the larger ones use a #25 and are a fantastic screw
also .. try to order the torx bits that GRK makes.. they are much harder than most of the ones you can buy elsewhere
i love GRK... keep shopping until you find the best source
Anyone using the Torx Adjustable Screw....seems interesting as well for door jambs.
bte fellas....just curious. Maybe GRK requires all dealers to charge MSRP ???A Pail of - #9 2.5 (575ish screws) was $43.
Thats close to what I paid recently, without digging up the receipt I think the bucket was $37 plus tax.When I grow up I want to be like Riverman!
Now go buy some SS ones!;)
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That price is for the regular ones, I don't want to know what the stainless ones cost. At $37 a bucket for regular GRK's it's hard to swallow but they are worth every penny in my opinion.
Their coloured torx bits are ones that they market but don't actually make. I think they are coated with manmade diamond dust to help the grip and wear.
The guy who is their rep at all the trade shows lives in my area. His son is one of my sparkies. That got us usinmg them up heere, but they pay for themselves. Our local yard did their own strength test and time to drive in test vs the ones Simpson sells for the structural washer headed lags. The GRK won hands down - non-scientific but impressive.
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the only problem we had was with the small trim head screws with a #10 torx
we were laying about 1000 sf of 5/4 x4 Ipe' ... even though we predrilled.. we still had the occasional strip out of the head
basswood says he had no strips even in hardwoodMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Here is my trick:
71618.28 in reply to 71618.18 Here is what we use for the trimhead countersink. Two steps up this Unibit works great for the 1-1/2" to 3-1/8" GRK's (T-10). When we use the 5" trimheads (T-15) we go to the "third-step."This almost looks like a MikeSmith photo:be the pointing hand
on the ipe' we used a two step bit.... one diameter for the shank and one to dimple the wood for the head
95% - 98% drove fine... the other 2 - 5 % stripped out the head
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I'll fess up...I've not tried T-10 screws with Ipe. I do mostly cabinet installing, so by hardwoods I mean oak, maple, hickory, etc.The occasional deck I run into has been ACQ or Trex.For trimheads, we run two cordless drills (separate pilot & Unibit for the countersink), then run the screws with the cordless impact driver.I very rarely strip screws anymore (there was a learning curve though)...Ipe could take me down though. : )
yeah... we're running two drills each for our hardwood.. one for pilot hole and one for driver
with the Trex we used their #9 x 2 1/2 with the reverse thread top and no pre-drilling... that one takes the #15 torx too
those never strip.. but they do like to snap off right in the middle of the reverse thread...
i don't think we'll buy those again.....Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
When I say no failures, I exagerate. Maybe 2-3 out of a thousand.But that beats some of the others we've tried with uyp to a third of the screws snapping off.
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Photo of the Top Stars, ( sorry for the poor quality) next time anybody is installing exterior doors, give this a try. Great system & you can always come back & do a fine tune adjustment!
hey .... you got your Screen Actor's Guild card for that hand ?
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Did you notice the divet in the Index finger?I think I jambed a T-15 bit into my finger a week before I took that pic. Ruined my chance to be a hand model.
Edited 8/13/2006 9:39 pm ET by basswood
I use the same trimheads in IPE`. I had more breakage of bit tips than of screws. We do predrill. There were a couple that came to a stop when the bit broke off in the head with it almost driven flush. In those cases, we got the grinder to fit it flush with the surface.
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Curious - what did the lumber yard do with them to make you believe they were stronger?
I just bought my first few handy packs of GRK, as well as some from http://www.screw-products.com/ which also does star drive. I haven't been able to do anything with them yet though. I'm hoping the driver tips won't bind up in the heads as much as the square drives do.
The stuff from Screw Products has some interesting design characteristics, we'll see how well they work out. Having to go though 2 middlemen (the hardware store, and then their supplier) to actually get the GRKs really ticked me off too. Until they are retail stocked in most areas (not just special order) they should have a web based order form. Right now I'm waiting a month or so to get a set of pan heads from them that my hardware store's supplier didn't carry... if they didn't goof up the order. I tried ordering a pair of #25 1" and 2" bits thought this chain... and almost got a case of each at about $150 per case! D'OH! Glad they called to confirm the order!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
They screwed into PT and oak with both types same lumber, same conditions. the Torx GRX went in a bit slower I think, but never broike, at least one out of ten or twelve of the Simpson ones were breaking
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Hey Mike...FWIW to you. I noticed in HD that they have a new section in the fastener dept where they sell SS trim screws etc. The 2 1/2" SS trim screws at HD were about $5 a lb cheaper than McFeely's. Aaaaannnddd they come in a nice plastic container : )>
A year ago, I tried to get HD to special order some GRK cabinet screws but they wouldn't do it.
So I went with http://www.Screw-produts.com. These screws are a bit pricey but worth the money. I use a T-25 cabinet screw and a T-25 gold screw for the face frames. No bit changing! You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
Not only do they have SS screws now but I even saw Ditra in the tile dept.>
We use the T-30, 35, and 40 in sizes 3" to 12" all the time at the timberframe shop and on the jobsite...those things are absolutely unreal. The holding power is simply unbelievable.
When you get into those sizes, you start plugging a cord in. What are you using to drive them?
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Old Makita 1/2" drills. The kind with two straight handles and a removable D handle in the back (never seen one attached). Some are approaching 20 years old, and except for new brushes and switches, never need work. The new ones look the same but have plastic bodies. They still have good torque, though. The same drills drive huge ship augers (like 1.5" and 18 inches long) day in and day out, too.
My SAR guy uses them to drivve his mixing paddle for Durabond in a five gallon bucket. They do have torque!
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ANY special order at HD is a waste of time
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I agree with the sentiment that GRK screws are great. Well worth the price. I use their T-10 trimhead screws and composite deck screws, T-15 trim and cabinet screws, T-25 structural screws, and T-30 structural lags.
I would like to try GRK concrete screws and compare them to Tapcons.
With proper pilot holes & coutersinking, I have no problems with the T-10 drivers--even in hardwoods.
I like GRK bits, both for quality, and the color-coding helps ID T-10 vs. T-15 with a cursory glance.
Here is the dealer locator:
http://www.grkfasteners.ca/grk/servlet/GRKRetailLocator
And this is the info on the Concrete screws:
http://www.grkfasteners.com/en/CLB_0_XL_information.htm
Edited 8/12/2006 10:33 pm ET by basswood
Anybody use the GRK Top Stars for installing wood frame entry doors?
They are the BomB!, Bit spendy but once you Go Top Star you wont go back to any other way of hanging Doors!
Here are the prices for GRK trim and cabinet screw in the Pro-Paks:
http://www.grkfasteners.com/en/FIN_2_pro_pak.htm
http://www.grkfasteners.com/en/CAB_2_pro_pak.htm
There is none better. it's all I use. Well worth the money - no failures and they save time vs phillips bit types. Even better than square drive for insertions.
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So these are the REAL Piffin screws?
No - my hobby horse and pet peeve is finding wall cabs hung with SR screws so iI rail against using them for anything other than SR. So SR screws came to be called Piffinscrews, cause they g3et my attention. The GRK are what should be used for structrual work.
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