www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I want to attach cement board (hardibacker) to steel angle iron 10mm thick.

I was going to use a wonder glue , sticks like , then mechanicaly fix using self tapping screws. but I;d like to get it done before the end of the year..and i forsee a lot of pain trying to drill into 10mm of steel..

is there a gun that fires nails into steel, a bit like the hilti guns that fire into concrete??
cheers

Hilti guns fire into steel as well. I've got an old dx450 hilti that shoots into steel no problem.
The problem you might have with using a hilti gun is the cement board will break up,I'd use decent self tapping screws and a tek gun and you'll fix the boards back no problem.

cheers steve. was thinking the same with the board splitting, thought maybe I could aim the gun at a pre drilled hole.
I dont have a tek gun, or a lot of experience with self tappers and steel. will an impact driver do the same job?

presume i need to pre drill the steel?

any recommendation for screws ?

Not heard of screws that can tap steel before, but concrete self-tappers exist so I guess steel tapping screws must too...

I'd be careful tapping a hole with an impact driver though, could possibly make a mess. My gut instinct tells me to go for a powerful drill or tap wrench instead, for a steadier application of torque, since impact drivers put out huge amounts of torque in a split second.

Also yeah, I think you would have to drill the steel before using self-tapping steel screws.

http://m.screwfix.com/p/timco-phillips- ... -200/62277

I have used these in the past I agree with Liam about using an impact driver you will probably be better using a combi drill

thanks lads , noted about the impact driver

cant get my head around been able to drill 12mil steel with a bit and sink a screw into it, I just never get to work with with steel.

this is the same stuff used in RSJ's and the like, a big lump of 200x100