Fixing Ceiling panels to Steel Frame House

[Prof]

Hi all...I need to fix some cement board panels to steel ceiling beams in a steel frame house..

What is the best type of screw fixing to use..and do I need to drill a hole for all the screws or is there a better way of doing it?

[darylhewston]

@Prof

I can only assume that you will be drilling/fixing onto a tophat or topspan product which is probably about 0.70mm thick metal.  You could use a timber countersunk screw so you could flush the sheet or you could use a hexagonal tek screw.  Either way you don't need to pre-drill unless the sheet is rather thick (ie more than 5-6mm).  I pinched the picture below from Stratco website for reference.

Cheers'n'beers

Daryl

[Prof]

Thanks for the reply Daryl..
Would a timber countersunk screw pierce the metal tophat section without pre-drilling?
The screw in the drawing appears to be something different than an ordinary woodscrew with the flat section at the point..
Does it say on the Stratco website what that screw is?

[darylhewston]

Hi @Prof

To answer your question, yes.  A timber screw will penetrate through the thin steel top hat without any problem.  Another fastener to be on the safer side would be something like this https://www.awoodshed.com.au/vstore/index.php?route=product/product&path=19_217&product_id=12909.  There would be no problem using a metal screw.  Unfortunately I didn't really look at the Stratco site, just wanted to confirm with a picture that this is what you were trying to achieve.

Cheers'n'beers

Daryl

[Prof]

Those screws look perfect for the job!..I needed the csk heads also..
Thanks for your help..