Securing a satellite dish to a wood.

[pooksahib]

My apologies for the lameness of this question but I just want to ensure the job is done properly. My new extension is almost complete and it's made of wood (45 x 45 vertical battens securely fixed to studs, with horizontal feather edged boarding).
Between two of the battens (and behind the boarding) the builder has nailed a piece of wood for my satellite dish. I imagine that the standard issue screws for dishes are intended for brick walls. What type of screws/bolts should be used in my case?

My thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[xerxes]

You will need to measure the thickness of the board your builder has supplied, add the thickness of the cladding, and add the effective thickness of the mounting bracket. Take a little off the total, say 5mm, and use woodscrews of about that length. Check, however, that the mounting board is adequate for the load of the satellite dish, taking into account any additional load from wind. Beef it up if you think you need to.

The screws supplied with the dish may well be suitable; on the other hand they may not. Many manufacturers supply fixing screws which are quite inadequate for mounting the product supplied: this is one of life's mysteries.

Generally, screws supplied for use with wall plugs in masonry are woodscrews of one kind or another.

 

[pooksahib]

Thanks xerxes. That'll be a screw length of 6 or 7 centimetres then. Can these be screwed straight in or do they require drill-holes/rawl plugs first?
Is there any advantage is using a full-thread screw as opposed to the traditional ones which have an unthreaded section at the head?

Kind regards.

 

[xerxes]

A woodscrew is designed to screw directly into wood; there is no need for a plug (in any normal application in wood).

If you are using a traditional screw, you will need to drill a clearance hole for the shank and a pilot hole for the thread. However, these screws are not often used nowadays.

One advantage the traditional screw has over its successors is that the unthreaded shank acts as a metal dowel to help locate the hardware being fixed; this can sometimes be useful.

Most woodscrews nowadays can be driven straight in without the need for a pilot hole (depending on the material). I would still drill a clearance hole through the cladding, to avoid the chance of splitting it.

Consider using stainless steel screws for this application.

 

[pooksahib]

Thanks again, sir.