what kind of screw should I use for a diy stand?
 

Is there a particular type of screw I should use for the 2X4's? Are some screw more salt-resistant than others? I know stainless steel would probably be the best, but it seems rather expensive and is it perhaps overdoing things? Your opinions, please.

I used galvenized deck screws. It's been 2 years now.

I used painted deck screws from home depot

Thats what I meant......... the brown ones......

I used three different types and sizes of screws, some galvanized, some brown deck, and some plain stainless steel. In the end my entire stand including the screws and metal plates I used were all painted over with waterproof sealing primer and then a coat of waterproof paint on top of that :biggrin: Personally I would be more concerned about sealing the 2x4 wood to make sure they don't absorb water/moisture.

Also, it is a good idea to use wood glue on your DIY stand. The glue will make your stand a lot sturdier than just screws would. The glue also helps to seal cracks in between the wood :-)

+1

I used the green deck screws just because I had a billion left-over from my fence build. It doesn't matter if you seal everything up. I like to fill screw holes with silicone and then seal the stand although this time I simply painted over all the screws with the same 3 coats of melamine the rest of the stand got.

Over a year DRY and no rust. Can you believe it?!

And yeah use wood glue. You have a much better chance of breaking the screws than the glue. You can't appreciate the glue's strength until you decide you don't like where you put a support and try to crowbar it out. You have a better idea when you decide the support can stay because you're tearing the surrounding wood the shreds.

Yeah decking screws are ideal, I like the green ones because they're green :mrgreen:
I also like to pre-drill to prevent cracking and splitting.

oh yes, +1 for pre-drilling all your holes! You won't appreciate this until you split your first 2x4 and then have to run to home depot to get another one at 10pm.

Yep. glue and screw, mine is over 2 years old and still like new. Also I went frameless, as in no 2x4 frame. Just used single or double thickness 3/4 plywood. I used Red Oak and then Oak trim. It was easy to build and very strong and very clean inside.

Thanks for the opinions, guys. That was very helpful. Glue in addition it is! I had no idea about that one...