Special screws for Conwood fascia board ?

[Andrew Dwyer]

As the title suggests I want to fasten some plastic gutters to the fascia board on my house.

 

And am wondering if there are any specific screws for Conwood ?

Or any recommendations i.e. a small pilot hole ?

 

I understand Conwood is a mixture of fibre and cement and can be brittle .

[VocalNeal]

Pilot hole and stainless sheet metal screws should be OK.  How thick is the conwood? If it is hollow behind you can use cavity screw thingies

 

 

[Daffy D]

Heavy rain can make full gutters very heavy and I doubt the Conwood board alone would hold it.

 

Using "cavity screw thingies" would be an option but tricky to work with in that situation and still have a break away problem if the load is too great. 

 

If possible I would sugest wooden battons behind the Conwood board to spread the load with the screws going right through to the battons. 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

These will do the job 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Stuck my head up through the hatch and determined that the fascia board is fastened to the steel framework of the roof at 1 metre intervals.

If I can put the gutter brackets at the same intervals I should be in business by drilling through the fascia into the steel.

My ladder is not really long enough to get into the roof space and as it is a bungalow with suspended ceilings I don’t feel too enthusiastic about walking about up there anyway.

 

Next step is to determine where the fascia is screwed to the roof beams from outside and remove 1 screw to see what type are used. Probably end up with 1 screw into the steel and 1 screw using a cavity screw thingy ( gravity toggle ? ) in each bracket .

 

1 metre intervals for guttering support should be okay ?

 

[sometimewoodworker]

11 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

1 metre intervals for guttering support should be okay ?

No, too far apart, 3 or 4 per per meter depending on the gutter strength.

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

1 metre intervals for guttering support should be okay ?

 

 

Have a read. I think about every 2 feet (600mm) is about right. In your case one every 1m as planned and one in the middle for one every 500mm. That makes it easy and uses your steel attachment plan.

[CGW]

I put up three pieces of guttering last week total about 6m with 2 x inside corners, it was impossible to screw into the conwood with anything, it was just too hard!

Plan B, marked and placed brackets in place with double sided tape! then ran a generous bead of silicone around them and left for 24 hours to dry. Installed the guttering and ran some expanding foam along the back of the guttering between fascia board.

All I can say is it works and certainly strong enough, had a few heavy rainfalls with no issues, sometimes you have to improvise!

[Andrew Dwyer]

I put up three pieces of guttering last week total about 6m with 2 x inside corners, it was impossible to screw into the conwood with anything, it was just too hard!
Plan B, marked and placed brackets in place with double sided tape! then ran a generous bead of silicone around them and left for 24 hours to dry. Installed the guttering and ran some expanding foam along the back of the guttering between fascia board.
All I can say is it works and certainly strong enough, had a few heavy rainfalls with no issues, sometimes you have to improvise!

Yes, that’s the reason for this thread, I had screwed a small screw into some Conwood previously ( to hold back some polycarbonate sheeting) and was surprised how difficult it was, it really doesn’t have any “ wood “ qualities , other than appearance !!
They should change the name to Confibre !!

I’m gonna go ahead with my previous plan of gravity toggles and screwing into steel roof beams every metre, ( 3 brackets in 1 metre) I think this should work .

Where did you get you guttering from ?

I’ve seen some ideal ( for my situation) stuff at Mega Home as it was black or maybe dark brown ?
I had a quick look around last year but didn’t really pursue it until it started raining last week [emoji20]
Home Mart ( SCG ) would probably be cheaper but maybe they don’t stock it, I did see some white plastic stuff last year while doing the rounds but discounted it, don’t fancy painting it every two years !!

[CGW]

24 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Where did you get you guttering from ?

Got it from Thai Watsadu the maker is VG, https://www.vggutter.com/home

 

I have put up guttering screwed into conwood before with no problem, but I guess quality control isn't the best, some is just too hard to take a screw!

[Andrew Dwyer]

Got it from Thai Watsadu the maker is VG, https://www.vggutter.com/home
 

Thanks for that, seems like I saw the white version at Thai Watsadu and the brown at Mega Home .

[CGW]

18 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Thanks for that, seems like I saw the white version at Thai Watsadu and the brown at Mega Home .

 

I believe Watsadu do both colours, seem to remember seeing brown as well? I used white, as it is good quality UPVC it doesn't need painting.

[Fruit Trader]

Not too much DIY dancing required for Conwood as it can take a regular fixing. Beware of the double facia as they can be up to 25mm thick.

 

Thai trough fixers will show that regular screws give an excellent fix on cement board but require correct size pilot hole to leave just enough material for the screw to bite. Pilot too small and screws will lock up and possibly tear out or break off the head. To help with tight pilot hole, dip tip of screw in grease.

 

HSS drills are ok on cement board if sharp and speed is kept low. They will dull quickly and require a touch on grinder or cutting disk. Drills work best with steep cutting angle that quickly snatches the board without  rubbing.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Not too much DIY dancing required for Conwood as it can take a regular fixing. Beware of the double facia as they can be up to 25mm thick.   Thai trough fixers will show that regular screws give an excellent fix on cement board but require correct size pilot hole to leave just enough material for the screw to bite. Pilot too small and screws will lock up and possibly tear out or break off the head. To help with tight pilot hole, dip tip of screw in grease.   HSS drills are ok on cement board if sharp and speed is kept low. They will dull quickly and require a touch on grinder or cutting disk. Drills work best with steep cutting angle that quickly snatches the board without  rubbing.

Thanks for that .

Sounds like I need to grab myself an off cut to experiment with the pilot hole size .

[Fruit Trader]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Thanks for that .

Sounds like I need to grab myself an off cut to experiment with the pilot hole size .

Now that's a good idea but if you cant get the pilot right use some lube. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Okay, just to wrap this thread up .

 

I did a little test with an offcut of Conwood and found a 3mm pilot hole ideal for the screws i have.

 

A HSS drill indeed drilled through the board with ease but also lost its edge very quickly and as i had 20 brackets with 6 screws in each i decided to try a 3mm Masonry drill bit which worked even better ( although on the last bracket the masonry drill lost its tip and i resorted back to putting the edge back on the HSS drill.

 

Anyhoo, the guttering i bought was VG First R2 in brown and i am happy with the results.

 

I bought the internal brackets as it certainly gives a nicer finish ( i.e. can't see the brackets ) but i found that the outside edge of gutter could unclip itself from the bracket easily and was worried that when full of water might come unclipped, so i did a Heath and Robinson fix !! by putting a small piece of cut up nylon hose under the end of bracket held in place with a drop of pvc glue and preventing the gutter from coming unclipped under weight.

 

Took me a little longer than expected as i had to buy a Bamboo Ladder ( 400 baht for a 5m one ), wire up the rungs to prevent it coming apart and then make up a makeshift ladder stay when i started to fit the guttering !!

 

Sorry about the long winded post but i like to tidy up my threads !!, thanks to all who posted and sorry to anyone reading this who fell asleep 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Andrew Dwyer