How to attach skirting boards to steel frame?

Question

This weekend I laid the Senso self-adhesive vinyl planks in lord. Then I used 8G 50mm self tapping screws to attach skirting boards to timber framing. Screws didn't go through on the other walls because they are steel framed. I tried glueing the skirting boards but the wall isn't straight enough. I don't own a nail gun.

The primed skirting is 63mm x 18mm, what screws work on steel studs? Ones I can spakfill over before painting.

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @Ambrosia,

You'll need to use Buildex 8G Class 3 Sheet Metal Screws to attach to the steel studs. Unfortunately, we only carry up to the

https://www.bunnings.com.au/buildex-8g-x-30mm-class-3-sheet-metal-screws-100-pack_p0920100

, which at 30mm won't be long enough to penetrate through the 18mm skirting and 10mm Gyprock. However, we can Special Order in the longer versions as per the image below. Either the 40 or 50mm should be fine.

We do have metal self-tapers that are longer, but they are the winged versions. The issue with these is that the wings need to shear off when they hit the metal and 0.5BMT steel studs typically are not thick enough to do this. This means the wings wallow out a hole in the steel too large for the threads to grip into.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell