Field note
Type S drywall screws for light-gauge steel
Type S is the commercial hang screw. Fine thread, piercing point, usually a bugle head, made to tap cold-formed steel thinner than 0.033 inch. It is not “a drywall screw.” It is the C1002 class that belongs on interior drywall stud.
This page restates public class language from ASTM C1002 and Gypsum Association fastener notes, plus the hang and steel sequence a sub actually runs. Official fastener data — Grabber and peers — should match that class. Pull current sheets from grabberpro.com. This is not a SKU catalog, not a price list, and not a substitute for the listed fire design. Cluster: Fasteners. Hang pattern: how to hang drywall. Steel package: steel stud framing basics.
What Type S is
C1002 Type S is a fine-thread, self-piercing tapping screw for gypsum panel products into light-gauge steel. Fine thread so the thin flange has enough engaged threads to hold. Piercing point so it starts in 18-mil and 30-mil drywall members without a drill tip. Bugle head is the interior gypsum default so the head dimples the face paper instead of sitting proud.
What it fastens. Gypsum to interior C645 / AISI S220 drywall stud and track, hat channel, resilient channel, furring that is still in the C1002 thickness range, and shaft-stud face layers when that member is still light-gauge. The liner-to-stud detail on shaftwall is its own pattern — do not assume the face-layer Type S is the liner fastener.
What it is not. Not Type W coarse into wood (see Type W). Not Type G into gypsum core. Not a C954 drill point. Not a pan-head metal-to-metal framing screw. Those jobs get other families on the same fasteners hub.
Gypsum Association public notes are blunt on the swap: a Type S may be used into wood; a Type W into steel is the wrong recommendation. Production shops still stock Type W for wood because that is the coil the house gun is set up for. Do not treat the permission as a reason to run one fine-thread coil on every substrate.
Thickness is the gate
C1002 covers steel less than 0.033 inch (0.84 mm). That is 25-ga / ~18-mil drywall stud and 20-ga drywall (~30 mil) on many interiors. Once the steel is 0.033 inch and thicker, you are in ASTM C954: self-drilling points, commonly called Type S-12 in the trailer. See self-drilling framing screws and exterior CFS vs interior light-gauge.
Interior 25-ga partition: Type S. Structural 33-mil, 18-ga, 16-ga, and most exterior backup: not Type S. If the screw spins on the flange, you likely brought a piercing point to heavier steel. Do not keep leaning on the trigger.
EQ drywall stud is still a drywall member when the mill rates it that way — confirm mils on the tag. Limiting height is a steel problem; fastener class is a thickness problem.
Length, layers, and the fire design
Public application language and listed designs talk in named lengths, not “whatever is on the coil.” Pattern the trailer sees on multi-layer steel walls (always confirm the design):
- Base layer: often a 1-inch Type S (or S-12) class screw
- Face layer: often 1-5/8 inch so it reaches the steel through the base layer
Single-layer 1/2-inch and 5/8-inch interiors commonly run a shorter Type S that still fully engages the flange. Three-layer shaft faces and wood-plus-steel mixed walls change the number. The listed UL / GA-600 design wins. A shorter screw than the design named is how an inspector challenges the wall.
Spacing, single-layer, screws, no adhesive — walls 16 inches o.c. at 16-inch framing, 12 inches at 24-inch framing, ceilings 12 inches — then tighten to the fire design, which often wants 12 inches on walls even at 16-inch studs. Edge distance at least 3/8 inch from paper edges and ends. Full notes: how to hang drywall.
Dimple, do not punch. Head just below the face paper. Torn paper is a fastener that photographs or blows out. Depth-sensitive guns exist for this class; see Tools and production tools.
Collation does not change the spec
Collated Type S coils earn their keep on long commercial runs. They do not excuse missing a stud and do not turn a piercing screw into a drill point. Collation is packaging; class, length, and head still have to match the hang and the fire design. See collated drywall fasteners. Loose Type S stays on punch, openings, and mixed-gauge floors.
Commercial vs residential
Commercial wall and ceiling. Type S is the default hang screw. Stock it in the lengths the typical floor uses, plus the longer face-layer length the rated walls name. Keep a C954 / S-12 pouch for heavier members on the same job. Metal-to-metal framing screws stay in the framing pouch, not on the hang gun.
Residential production. Type S only if that house, garage, basement furr, or townhome demising wall is actually steel. Most production houses live on Type W. A residential crew that picks up a school TI does not automatically own the right Type S coil, the right point, or the fire-design length. Bid the fastener class or send the hang back.
Do not hang a 1-hour corridor with a wood-screw coil because that is what was on the truck.
What to put on the takeoff
Name the class (Type S, C1002), the length, and whether collation is in the production plan. Name S-12 / C954 separately when the steel leaves the piercing range. Do not write “drywall screws” and assume the yard sends fine thread.
Official data: Grabber, grabberpro.com. Fasteners, Tools, Products, Type S vs Type W vs laminating. No item numbers. Affiliate disclosure.
FAQ
Can Type S go into wood?
Gypsum Association public notes allow it. Shops still stock Type W for wood. Do not run one coil on every substrate because the spec permits a swap one direction.
When do I leave Type S for S-12?
When the steel is 0.033 inch and thicker. Self-drilling point, not a C1002 piercing point.
Is a longer Type S a laminating screw?
No. A longer Type S reaches steel through two layers. Type G holds gypsum to gypsum. The listed design says which one you are looking at.
Does collation change spacing?
No. Spacing is C840 / GA-216 and the fire design. Collation only feeds the gun.
Where do we buy job quantity?
Fastener house and gypsum house. Small punch boxes show up at the box store. Manufacturer listings stay editorial. Official sheets: grabberpro.com.