Seeking advice from the experienced woody builder/owner about t-nut replacements

Should I design a woody setup to have panels that can removed or accessed from behind if t-nuts strip out or anything else I will regularly see (maintenance wise)?

This setup would be kept outside in the elements. Plan to insulate and shingle the thing so i don’t plan on having much space behind the panels once they’re hung. Also keeping it as simple as possible is definitely what i’m striving for. Not needing a lot of dead space behind the panels will be key.

Any first hand experience would be awesome! Thanks!

I put up a small wall last week and I stripped out 3 t-nuts right away. I definitely should have drilled out the holes a bit better or maybe I messed something else up but I would say its really smart to be able to access the back of the wall if need be

I've never had a t-nut strip out so I wouldn't worry about that much, so long as you're using half decent hardware. One thing that can happen occasionally is the t-nut popping out of the back. Rare, like once a year, but if you couldn't access it that hole would be done. Once the t-nut has been cranked on it's unlikely it'd poop out. Could add some glue as well.

Chris Hatzai wrote: Should I design a woody setup to have panels that can removed or accessed from behind if t-nuts strip out or anything else I will regularly see (maintenance wise)?

Yes, definitely.  Removing and replacing the panels with holds on them is difficult ( REALLY HEAVY!!) and a multi-person job.  It's best to provide access to the back.

This setup would be kept outside in the elements. Plan to insulate and shingle the thing so i don’t plan on having much space behind the panels once they’re hung. 

Not sure what you mean here.   But if you screw on whatever you have covering the insulation & back of the panels, it will be easier to remove than the panels themselves.

Also keeping it as simple as possible is definitely what i’m striving for. Not needing a lot of dead space behind the panels will be key.

Hmmm... most woodies overhang, thus creating "dead space" by definition.  Again, not sure what you're intending.

Z Winters wrote: I've never had a t-nut strip out so I wouldn't worry about that much, so long as you're using half decent hardware. One thing that can happen occasionally is the t-nut popping out of the back. Rare, like once a year, but if you couldn't access it that hole would be done. Once the t-nut has been cranked on it's unlikely it'd poop out. Could add some glue as well.

Hmmm... if it's outdoors, even if it's protected from direct precipitation, the hardware will likely rust in some number of years depending on climate.   Also, due to thermal and humidity cycling, the wood and the metal will change dimensions: resulting in getting tightened more and more to keep the holds from spinning.   The wood may soften as well.

Thus, the T-nuts will be far more susceptible to stripping out.

T-nuts are popular because they're cheap. But there are alternatives. You could use knife-thread inserts that screw into the wood. Or screw-mount inserts that have surface-mount flanges that could be installed in a shallow counterbore (ultimately concealed by the hold). Both of these types of fasteners are significantly more expensive, but you would never need access to the back of your panel. In fact, you wouldn't even need to complete the grid of inserts during the initial construction. More could be added, from the front, at any time when inclination and finance permit.

John Byrnes wrote: Not sure what you mean here.   But if you screw on whatever you have covering the insulation & back of the panels, it will be easier to remove than the panels themselves.

Hmmm... most woodies overhang, thus creating "dead space" by definition.  Again, not sure what you're intending.

I was just kicking around ideas, but was thinking a very simple A frame design shingling the outside. It’s going to be a free standing structure, just was curious if i could get away with building an A frame with some gussets, not needing a “box” design. Trying to do this on the relative cheap..

Thanks for all the input! I’ll definitely look into those other fasteners 

If a Tnut strips, no big deal. You lose one hole.

If you’re strapped for space and the design of getting behind the wall isn’t easy to make maybe just consider buying and using only screw-on holds. Screw on holds are way more versatile and you can fit many more holds on the wall compared to using Tnuts.  After a LONG time and a lot of setting the wall will be chewed up from screw holes, but then you can just replace the front panel.