I need to hang some hardibacker on a bathroom wall whose studs are a little over 3/4" back from a surface that the hardibacker needs to be flush with. I was going to rip wood strips a bit over 1/4" thick and attach those to the studs in order to bring the hardibacker flush with the existing wall. When I hang the hardibacker I want the screws to be firmly in the studs. The longest scews that are normally sold for CBU are 1 5/8" thick, which would mean that there would be less than an inch of the screws' threads in the wall studs. Which is less than I feel comfortable with. I have a box of 2" stainless steel decking screws that are long enough, but I'm concerned that the head on them is not wide enough. The head on CBU screws is about 3/8", the head on the stainless screws is 5/16". I have three questions.
- Despite my doubts, would 1 5/8" CBU screws be long enough in this situation? Someone suggested that if I attach the 1/4" strips with construction adhesive that they would effectively become part of the existing studs.
- If I use the stainless screws, will the smaller head be a possible problem?
- Should I be taking an entirely different approach to this?