Debate: pre-drill pilot holes or just send it with screws?

I just wrapped up a deck job here in Austin where I had to make a call on every joist hanger screw. Old school guys swear by pre-drilling so the wood doesnt split, especially on treated lumber near the ends. But I got a crew member who says modern screws are sharp enough to self-tap and pre-drilling just wastes time. On this job, I tried both sides. Pre-drilling took forever on 200 hangers but I had zero splits. The areas I skipped it I saved maybe 3 hours total but cracked two joist ends and had to sister them. Which camp are you in on this? Do you pre-drill every time or only on certain wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert_hayes13d ago

Skipping pilot holes is like skipping breakfast before a long hike, sure you save time up front but you pay for it later. Those two cracked joists probably cost you more than the three hours you saved. I'm all for modern screws doing the heavy lifting but treated lumber is basically wet cardboard and it splits if you look at it wrong. Pre-drilling on deck work is just cheap insurance especially when you're dealing with expensive lumber and warranties. Your crew member can save the speed talk when theyre the one replacing a split joist on their dime.

morgan.charlie13d ago

Aw, come on man, modern screws are so aggressive they basically drill their own hole and treated lumber ain't that fragile if you're not using a sledgehammer on the driver. You're blowing those two cracked joists way out of proportion when a little common sense and not rushing gets you the same result without slowing down the whole job.