Used self-tapping screws instead of hand nailing for ceiling work

I know most guys swear by hand nailing ceilings for that extra bite, but I tried self-tappers on a 1,200 square foot job in Austin last month. Honestly, it saved me almost two hours and the hold was just as solid after the mud set. Has anyone else had a bad experience with screws on a ceiling, or am I just getting lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara96717h ago

My cousin actually used self-tappers on his whole house in San Antonio back in 2018 and he still hasn't had a single pop or crack. It's funny because I've been noticing this pattern everywhere now, people are just done doing things the hard way when the easy way works just as good. My neighbor still hand sands his drywall instead of using a pole sander and he complains about his shoulder all the time. There's this whole thing in my town where the old timers insist on doing everything the way they learned in the 80s, but the new guys are all about speed and consistency with power tools. I think it's the same with screws on ceilings, you get a better bite into the joist anyway since the screw is pulling itself in, plus no worry about popping loose over time. Hand nailing makes sense for certain things but for a big flat ceiling I just don't see the advantage anymore unless you really hate your wrist.

stella_foster15h ago

Oh man the pole sander thing hits home, I finally switched after years of fighting with a hand sander and my neck is so much happier now. For real though on the screws, I've been using the self-tapping ones on my last two ceiling jobs and they just grab so much better than nails ever did, plus you can actually feel when they're set right.