After doing my roof and using [Grip Rite Fasteners][1] for both the [roofing felt][2] and [shingles][3] I knew what to get when a storm blew a section of my privacy fence down. So I went to the hardware store and got a box of Grip Rite Deck Screws.**Grip Rite PrimeGuard Plus-Coated Screws**These screws come in various lengths and are coated to resist staining the wood, whether it be a fence or a deck you use them on. I needed to go through a 2"x4" board as well as far enough into a 4"x4" post to hold it securely in place. I already had a box of 2" Grip Rite wood screws for the 1"x5" face boards so now I was all set to repair my fence.The wind the other night kicked up some ***heavy straight line winds that reached 80mph*** and it demolished an eight foot section of my privacy fence. Lucky for me it was only the horizontal boards that broke so it wasn't going to be too bad to repair....or so I thought!I grabbed my drill and put the proper bit in it which I already had from ***Grip Rite*** when I bought a box of their 2" deck screws. I drove a nail in to hold one end of the board up (doing it myself so I needed help) I then balanced the 2"x4"x8' board on the nail and then proceeded to screw my top horizontal board in place. Well I got about 3/4 of it in and it started to slip on the bit!!! Crap this won't work....so I went and got a drill-bit to drill a pilot hole so I could get the screw in all the way (I needed 8 all together...4 for each board)I drilled my pilot hole and then got a fresh screw and tried again.....same thing, once it started into the 4x4 post it would not go any further. I bought a small box which holds 35 screws and in order to get the job done it took 1/2 the dang box!! These screws have such soft heads that almost every one stripped the head out trying to get it into the treated 4x4 post.Now these are made for outdoors and being so should go into treated lumber without stripping. I had no problems with the 2" ***Grip Rite*** screws but the 3 1/2" screws were a son of a biscuit to get in! I uttered that word many times fixing my fence along with a few mother truckers.....I know that's bad but if you went through 16 or 17 screws to get 8 half way decent ones you would utter a few words too...lol I mean even with pre drilled holes it was dang near impossible to get one to go in without stripping it.Even those these have a cross cut head (phillips head) I found out that a square bit will work on these as well. Too bad I found out after the fact though! **Bottom Line**If a company knows that by using a cross point bit (phillips head) that customers are going to strip out the head why do they package a cross point tip in the box? I now know to use a square bit when using these longer screws but it would have been nice if they had made that known on the box!The stripped ones did not go to waste though as I got up the other day to find my mailbox post busted and hanging by a few splinters. Seems my sons friend isn't the sharpest crayon in the box! I used a square bit on the stripped screws to fasten the mailbox back on a new post I had to set in place of the busted one.So beware if you buy these screws and use a square bit so you don't go through the aggravation that I had to endure. Since they seem to be misleading by giving you a cross point bit instead of a square bit for these softer head screws I can only rate them a 3 star rating. Companies need to learn that being straight up with customers will gain them more respect and right now I am not feeling the love for them at all!I do recommend them however because once you learn the right tool to use these screws work great and don't leave rust marks on your outdoor projects. [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Grip-Rite-Galvanized-Roofing-Nails-1-1-4-review-35d14 [2]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Warrior-Roofing-Felt-ASTM-30-216-Sq-Ft-Roll-review-6fdc [3]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Owens-Corning-Supreme-Shingles-review-02fe5

kid-kansas

Vincennes, IN