The hunt for fasteners

At the moment, with internal construction about to commence in earnest, I'm looking for internal fasteners to use that are waterproof. I've heard of closed-end blind rivets but today in my hunt for some with enough length to be usable, I discovered something interesting - rivnuts. They're apparently like a rivet but have a threaded core and can be used like a nut.

It's interesting that I found rivnuts because the hillbillies that had the bus before me had used four rivnuts on one of the windows. This kind of thing has potential! Despite being just discovered by me, they have apparently been around for slightly longer than I have.

As with closed-end rivets, closed-end rivnuts look to be quite pricey. Having said that, the problem with rivets is that while it would be possible to seal the edges of a rivet against the hole it was put into using solely the natural crimping action, sealing the hole in the center is another thing entirely. This is where closed-end rivets come to play as a solution as the end is sealed and no moisture can get through.

The rivnut has two options - open and closed. As with rivets, they will seal against the hole with no problem. Sealing the thread is where issues come in. Many people will opt for the closed rivnut as a solution. The cannier individual however, will spread adhesive over each screw as it goes in and will seal the rivnuts individually.

I'm swinging in favor of the rivnut on two grounds - firstly it's easier to undo than a rivet and secondly, it looks as if they're cheaper. Cheaper is the key factor!