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Salejolie t1_iyct06t wrote

You need to drill a pilot hole. Some material probably shouldn't have screws in them. What was the goal here?

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AmbitiousJuly OP t1_iyehowq wrote

Goal was hanging an IKEA Shade, it had hardware that needed to be attached to the frane

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StanleyDards t1_iycsnt9 wrote

Pre-drill holes. That’s pretty much a requirement. You’ll need a drill to do that.

Someone at the small-town hardware store can help you pick out the right screws for your surface materials. Take a picture of your proposed mounting point(s) and bring a bracket that you will be attaching.

Ask the same place how to repair that crack. In the best case, it looks ugly. And you don’t want that. In the worst case, it will fail from the stress. You don’t want that either.

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BellyScratchFTW t1_iydms5y wrote

That window "frame" is basically a thin piece of material that is used to trim out the window. I don't know how thick it is, but behind it is likely lumber framing. The screws that you use should go through that trim material and in to the lumber framing for the strongest connection.

You can use normal wood screws or perhaps even better, interior construction screws. Just stay away from the black drywall screws. They're brittle. Calculate a 1/2" for the trim material and at least an inch of embedment in to the framing lumber behind it. So that's a 1 1/2" or 2" screw. A pan head screw might look best.

The issue you have with splitting here is that you did not pre-drill the hole. Trim material is often a bit weak/brittle, especially toward the end of the board where your screw is. The drill bit size that you use should be about the same size as the shaft of the screw you want to use. NOT the full size of the screw and it's threads. If I’m doubt, make the drill bit size a bit smaller than a bit bigger. Your pre-drilling would only need to go through the trim material. You do not need to pre-drill the stud behind it as well. Though you are welcome to as it won’t harm anything.

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Great68 t1_iydczt2 wrote

>does that matter other than aesthetically?

In this case the wood surrounding the window is just trim for aesthetics (and also super prone to splitting because it's just thin wood), so the split is not going to harm anything, just looks ugly.

But yeah as others have mentioned, drill a pilot hole. Choose a drill bit the same diameter as the screw's shank (the threadless part in the middle), but smaller than the threads.

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freddybutters t1_iydg1y6 wrote

Story of my life, sometimes the screwing you get, ain’t worth the screwing you get.

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Rectal_Reptile t1_iyd6qki wrote

Wood screws are fine for this. Match the size to the hole in the metal plate, or a bit smaller. Since you're probably screwing in thin wood trimming (meranti wood?) You can never go wrong with drilling a pilot hole. Use a drill that's a bit bigger than the shank of the screw in this situation.

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Light_Dream_Phantom t1_iyd12iy wrote

Gonna sound like captain obvious but anti split wood screws, slower the insertion the better, sometimes unfortunately it's unavoidable. You can use wood filler to clean up the cracks.

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AmbitiousJuly OP t1_iyd20zb wrote

I should've stressed that I have zero DIY skills or experience so for me Captain Obvious is a helpful instructor.

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relaps101 t1_iydkmrn wrote

Pilot holes and wood screws, probably 1" should suffice. If you're mounting directly to the window frame like that.

In sheet rock, pilot hole, self tapping drywall anchors and the screws they came with. Somewhere in between a machine and sheetrock screw.

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Light_Dream_Phantom t1_iyd3z5l wrote

I'm the handyman of my family, wood, masonry, fencing, mechanic, electrician etc.

I have over 3000 screws in my shed, my "special screws" and the set I use for everything else.

Once you get the hang of it it will you'll find some interesting ways to fix things 😂

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