Screws at Bab Al-Saif start at 0.650 KD a box, and which one you need is decided by two things: what you are screwing into, and the two numbers printed on the box. Wood and concrete nails are all 0.750 KD a box whatever the size, nylon wall plugs run 0.500 KD to 1.750 KD by hole diameter, and aluminium blind rivets start at 1.250 KD.
This page sorts the whole fixings wall by job. Every price is read live today and is the lowest listed option on that product.
Which fixing for which job
| The job | What to use | Sizes | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gypsum board on a metal or timber frame | Drywall gypsum screws | Gauge 6 and 8, 3/4" to 4" | 2.250 KD |
| Sheet metal, steel section, roofing sheet | Self-drilling screws | Gauge 6, 8 and 10, 7/16" to 3" | 2.250 KD |
| Heavy steel and roofing with a washer | Kirby screws | Gauge 14, 3/4" to 4" | 1.750 KD |
| General fixing into timber, plastic and thin metal | Self-tapping screws | Gauge 4, 6, 8 and 10, 1/2" to 4" | 0.650 KD |
| Flat-pack furniture, chipboard and MDF | Chipboard screws | 4.0 x 25 mm and 4.0 x 30 mm | 1.750 KD |
| Anything into block, brick or concrete | Nylon wall plugs | 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 mm | 0.500 KD |
| Timber framing and formwork, by hand | Round-head wood nails | 3/4" x 18 to 4" x 8 | 0.750 KD |
| Trim and skirting, where the head must not show | Lost-head wood nails | 3/4" x 18 to 3" x 10 | 0.750 KD |
| Battens into a concrete slab or wall | Steel concrete nails | 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", 4" | 0.750 KD |
| Joinery and panel work with an air nailer | F, T, PO and SN air nails | F-10 to F-50, T-50, PO-6-10 to 30, SN-32 and SN-38 | 0.750 KD |
| Upholstery, fabric and sheeting with a stapler | Pneumatic staples and hand-gun staples | Nine pneumatic codes; 8 mm for a hand gun | 0.750 KD |
| Joining two sheets where you can only reach one side | Aluminium blind rivets | 3.2, 4.0 and 4.8 mm diameter, 6 to 25 mm long | 1.250 KD |
What the two numbers on a screw box mean
A box marked 8 x 1 1/2 is gauge 8 and one and a half inches long. The first number is the shank thickness and the second is the length. Gauge runs the intuitive way round on screws: the bigger the gauge number, the thicker the screw.
What we stock, by gauge:
- Gauge 4 - the thinnest, 5/8" long, 0.750 KD. Light fixing into thin material.
- Gauge 6 - the everyday size, 1/2" to 3". Drywall, light timber, plastic.
- Gauge 8 - a step up in both thickness and grip. Gauge 8 self-tapping runs 1.000 KD at 3/4", 1.150 KD at 1", 1.250 KD at 1 1/4", 1.350 KD at 1 1/2" and 1.500 KD at 2", which is the one clean price ladder on that product.
- Gauge 10 - for structural timber and thicker steel, up to 4" long at 2.250 KD.
- Gauge 14 - only on the Kirby screws, 3/4" to 4", 1.750 KD to 3.750 KD. The heaviest thing on the wall.
Chipboard screws are the odd one out: they are sold in millimetres, 4.0 x 25 mm and 4.0 x 30 mm, both 1.750 KD. If you are assembling flat-pack furniture and the instructions give you millimetres, that is the box to ask for.
Self-tapping or self-drilling? The point tells you
These two get mixed up more than anything else on the wall, and the difference is at the tip.
- Self-tapping (STS), from 0.650 KD. A sharp point that cuts its own thread into a hole you have already made, or into soft material like timber and plastic. In steel you drill a pilot hole first.
- Self-drilling (SDS), from 2.250 KD. A tiny drill bit forged into the tip, so it makes the hole and cuts the thread in one pass. This is the one for sheet metal and steel section where stopping to drill a pilot hole for every fixing would take all day.
Self-drilling comes in three head styles here, and the head is a fitting choice, not a cosmetic one: truss head (wide and low, spreads the load on thin sheet), hex washer head (driven with a socket rather than a bit, so you can put real torque through it), and pan framing head at 7/16" for light steel framing. Zinc and black finishes at the same sizes.
Drywall screws come three ways: coarse black, coarse zinc and twinfast black. Coarse thread is for board onto timber; twinfast has two threads running up the shank so it pulls in with fewer turns. Gauge 6 from 3/4" to 2 1/2", gauge 8 from 1 1/4" to 4", all 2.250 KD to 3.500 KD.
Wall plugs: the millimetre is the hole, not the screw
This is the single most common mistake at the counter. A 6 mm nylon plug needs a 6 mm hole drilled with a masonry bit - the 6 mm is the plug's outside diameter, not the screw's. The screw that goes into it is smaller.
| Plug | Drill this hole | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mm | 5 mm masonry bit | 0.500 KD |
| 6 mm | 6 mm masonry bit | 0.750 KD |
| 8 mm | 8 mm masonry bit | 1.000 KD |
| 10 mm | 10 mm masonry bit | 1.250 KD |
| 12 mm | 12 mm masonry bit | 1.500 KD |
| 14 mm | 14 mm masonry bit | 1.750 KD |
Six sizes, a clean 0.250 KD step between each one, and nylon rather than plastic. The product page describes the plug as suited to solid base material and also usable in perforated brick and aerated concrete. Masonry bits to drill the hole are in drill bits and hole saws.
Nails: length first, then gauge - and gauge runs backwards
A nail marked 2" x 12 is two inches long and gauge 12. Here the gauge works the opposite way to screws: a lower gauge number is a thicker nail. So 4" x 8 is the thickest nail we sell and 3/4" x 18 is the thinnest.
Every wood nail box is 0.750 KD, so the size is a free choice. Two head styles:
- Round head, also sold as common nails. The head stays on the surface and holds. Framing, formwork, crates, battens. Ten sizes, 3/4" x 18 up to 4" x 8.
- Lost head, also sold as without-head common nails. A narrow head you punch below the surface and fill over. Skirting, architrave, trim. Ten sizes, 3/4" x 18 up to 3" x 10.
Steel concrete nails, 0.750 KD, come in 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3" and 4". These are hardened so they can be driven into a slab or a block wall to hold a batten without drilling. For anything that has to carry weight, use a plug and a screw instead.
Air nails and staples: the code is the length
If you own a nailer, the code on the box is what matters, and in the F and PO series the number is the length in millimetres.
- F series, 18 gauge brad nails. F-10 at 0.750 KD through F-15, F-20, F-25, F-30, F-35, F-40, F-45 to F-50 at 1.850 KD. Ten millimetres to fifty, in five-millimetre steps, rising 0.100 KD to 0.250 KD a step. This is the joinery and panel-pin range.
- T-50, 2.350 KD. A heavier T-head nail at the same 50 mm length.
- PO series. PO-6-10 at 2.500 KD up to PO-6-30 at 4.750 KD.
- SN series. SN-32 at 13.500 KD and SN-38 at 15.000 KD - the framing nails, and the two boxes on this page priced above 10.000 KD.
- Pneumatic staples in nine codes - 1410, 810, 9040, 9030, 8016, 8012, 804, 806 and 808 - from 1.500 KD to 2.250 KD.
- Hand-gun staples, 8 mm, 0.750 KD, for a manual tacker. The industrial hand stapler gun itself is from 4.000 KD, and the rest are in stapler guns.
Rivets: match the diameter to the hole and the nose
A blind rivet is for joining two sheets when you can only get at one side - ducting, trim, panels, aluminium frames. Two numbers again, and this time both are millimetres: 4.0 x 10 is a 4 mm shank, 10 mm long.
- Diameters: 3.2, 4.0 and 4.8 mm. Drill the hole to match the shank, and fit the matching nose piece to the riveter.
- Lengths 6 to 25 mm. The length has to cover both sheets plus enough shank left to form the head on the blind side.
- Prices from 1.250 KD, and there are white and beige rivets as well as silver at 3.2 x 6 and 4.0 x 10, for when the rivet will be visible on a painted panel.
- Tools. A 10.5 inch hand riveter is 1.500 KD and a second hand riveter is 7.500 KD. If you have a lot to do, a riveter adapter for a drill covering 2.4 to 4.8 mm is 3.500 KD and turns any cordless drill into a rivet gun. There is also a rivet-nut adapter at 12.000 KD for threaded inserts.
The whole range is in blind rivets.
What else you need on the bench
- A driver that matches the head. Drywall and self-tapping screws are mostly Phillips; a 6-piece screwdriver set is 2.750 KD and a 26-piece bit set with slotted, Phillips, Pozidriv, hex and Torx bits is 3.500 KD. More in screwdrivers.
- A socket for hex-head screws. Hex washer head self-drilling screws are driven with a socket, not a bit. Socket sets start at 3.000 KD.
- A drill for the pilot holes and the plugs. Cordless drills start at 10.750 KD, and masonry bits are in drill bits and hole saws.
Buying from Bab Al-Saif
- Bring the thing you are fixing. Our showroom is at Shuwaikh Plaza, Khalifa Al-Jassim Street, Shuwaikh Industrial, and matching a plug to a hole or a rivet to a nose piece takes thirty seconds across a counter and a long time over the phone.
- In Kuwait since 1992, rated 4.7 stars by more than 350 customers on Google.
- Cash on delivery, card, or instalments with Deema, with delivery across Kuwait.
Frequently asked questions
What screw do I use for drywall?
A drywall gypsum screw, from 2.250 KD. Gauge 6 in 3/4" to 2 1/2" for board on timber, gauge 8 in 1 1/4" to 4" for thicker build-ups. Coarse thread for timber framing and twinfast if you want it to pull in with fewer turns.
What is the difference between self-tapping and self-drilling screws?
The tip. A self-tapping screw has a sharp point and cuts its thread into an existing or pilot hole, and starts at 0.650 KD. A self-drilling screw has a small drill bit forged into the tip, so it drills and threads in one pass, and starts at 2.250 KD. Use self-drilling for sheet metal and steel section.
What does 8 x 1 1/2 mean on a box of screws?
Gauge 8, one and a half inches long. The first number is the thickness of the shank and the second is the length. On screws a higher gauge is thicker; we stock gauges 4, 6, 8, 10 and 14.
What size wall plug do I need for a 6 mm hole?
A 6 mm nylon plug, 0.750 KD. The millimetre figure on a plug is the diameter of the hole you drill, not the screw. Sizes run 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 mm from 0.500 KD to 1.750 KD.
How much are screws in Kuwait?
From 0.650 KD a box for self-tapping screws. Drywall and self-drilling screws start at 2.250 KD, chipboard screws are 1.750 KD, and Kirby screws run 1.750 KD to 3.750 KD depending on length.
What nail do I use on concrete?
A steel concrete nail, 0.750 KD, in 1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3" or 4". They are hardened so they can be driven into a slab or a block wall without drilling. If the fixing has to carry weight, drill and use a nylon plug and a screw instead.
What size rivet do I need?
Match the shank to the hole you drill: 3.2, 4.0 or 4.8 mm. The length, 6 to 25 mm, has to cover the thickness of both sheets with shank to spare. Aluminium blind rivets start at 1.250 KD, and a hand riveter is 1.500 KD.
What is a Kirby screw?
The heaviest screw on the wall here: gauge 14, 3/4" to 4" long, 1.750 KD to 3.750 KD. Eight lengths, and prices rise straight through the range, which is unusual on a fixings wall.
See the whole range in screws, wood, concrete and air nailer nails, blind rivets and stapler pins. For the tools to drive them, start at hand tools or read what a home tool kit should contain.
