Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - What screws for installing cabinets

I was wondering what type of screw is preferred for 1) fastening cabinets to wall, and 2) fastening cabinet faces together?

Should you use trim screws for fastening faces together? For fastening to walls, if you use cabinet trim washers, can you use a 2 1/2 - 3" drywall screws? The manufacturer for our cabinets suggests pan head screws. Test fitting these inside a trim washer, it seems like they don't fit as snug as a regular DW screw.

I would personally do what the manu. stated. These guys can get picky with warranty issues if you use something else.

Stay away from drywall screws. They are brittle and have little strength in shear. Screw a drywall screw into a piece of wood leaving part of the screw exposed. Grab the head with a pair of pliers and bend. You'll see what I mean. The countersunk head on a drywall screw also increases the chance of pull through when the cabinet is loaded with a ton of expensive china.

Buy some cabinet screws from a hardware store. They have more tensile strength and come with a large flanged head to prevent pull through. A panhead screw with a washer will also do the job.

For attaching face frames together use a quality countersunk screw. If your face frames are hardwood, it's a good idea to predrill. I usually predrill and counterbore and fill the bore with a piece of doweling.

For attaching the cabinets to the wall I always use a 2.5" wood screw with a square drive. To fasten the faces together I use a 2.25" self drilling finish screw. You can use a non sd screw if you pre-drill a hole for it.

The big box stores have washer head screws for fastening the cabinets to the wall. Some cabinet manufacturers include screws with the cabinets. Do not skimp on this. There is a great amount of weight to support when a wall cabinet is full of expensive dishes. Make sure the screws go into studs or blocking.