Bulkhead - Working With Warped Wood

[Bryan Cant]

Hi, I am building a bulkhead and I wanted to use some 2x2's I had left over. One of the pieces has a slight bow to it, so I thought I would screw that piece into the existing wall framing with the bow facing me. I am a novice so I this may sound stupid, but my thinking was that the screws would push the 2x2 into the wall framing and straighten it out. I used Home Depot wood screws to try this but unfortunately it did not work. As soon as the screw head became flush with the 2x2 it just stopped.

I am looking for any advice on how I could deal with this. Will a different type of screw work or is it not worth it?

[Bradley Gray]

Try drilling holes, slightly bigger than the screws, through the 2 x 2.

Orient the bowed piece so that it touches the studs in the middle and fasten the center first.

What's a bulkhead?

[Bryan Cant]

Thanks for advice. Pardon my ignorance, but if I drill holes that are slightly bigger than the screws, won't screws just go right through?

Sorry, I am a novice so I don't know if bulkhead is the right term. This is what I am referring to:

63855d1327250310-framing-bulkheads-2008_0702abunch0043.jpg

20285d1273320041-bulkhead-wall-ceiling-color-bulkhead.jpg

[Bradley Gray]

Drill holes through the 2 x 2 that are large enough for the screw shank but not the head. This will allow the threads to dig into the stud behind.

[Bryan Cant]

Ah, I see. Thanks a lot for the advice. I will give it a try.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for advice. Pardon my ignorance, but if I drill holes that are slightly bigger than the screws, won't screws just go right through?

Using pine 2x2s to box in some ducts? You ought to be able to pull a considerable bow out with screws. What kind of screws?

When you said "As soon as the screw head became flush with the 2x2 it just stopped" what just stopped, the bow or the screw? Did it need more power? Did it bury itself into the wood? Did you pre-drill or just drive the screw into the wood?

If the surface will be hidden you could use a bigger screw such as a 4" long 1/4" lag screw with a washer, drill a clearance hole in the 2x2, drill a pilot hole in the stud about the diameter of the bottom of the threads, tighten with a wrench. I've pulled 2x10s flat with lag screws.

Deck screws are my favorite, though for something like this - a 3" deck screw should be good for a 2x2. Drill a clearance hole into the 2x2 big enough for the screw threads but smaller than the head. You can cut a countersink on the clearance hole if you want but it is rarely needed except in very hard wood.

A clearance hole keeps the part being held from jamming up. The pilot hole in the part being fastened TO lets the screw go in easily, hold tightly, and keeps from splitting the wood. A quick illustration:

fasten_with_screw.jpg

Edit: oops, I see Bradley answered while I was making a diagram.

JKJ

[Bryan Cant]

Thanks for the advice John. I also appreciate the diagram. I am using wood screws. Is there a considerable difference between them and deck screws?

When the screw head became flush, it either became very hard to push the screw further, or it would keep going and bury itself into the wood.

I did not pre-drill. I will try this method out. Thanks again. Thanks Bradley for the advice as well.

[Ole Anderson]

The predrill is so the threads spin in the top piece and grip the bottom piece so they will suck together. (Can I say that?) Predrill hole size is the outside diameter of the threads. Alternate is to use screws that have a smooth shank the depth of the top piece so the threads can't grip the top piece just as you start to take out the bow. Another way is to clamp the pieces together to take out the bow, then screw them together without predrilling.

[Wes Ramsey]

In fence building I was always taught to turn the bow in toward the piece. Clamp it down if you can and it should stay put.

[Bryan Cant]

Thanks for the advice everybody. I finally managed to get to work on this.

I drilled the holes larger in the 2x2 so that they were just slightly larger than the screws. I flipped the 2x2 around so that the curve was touching the framing instead of facing me. It worked out well and was pretty easy.

Thanks again for the advice and for teaching me some new techniques.