Rivets, Rivet Washers, and Rivet Nuts: What Each One Actually Solves

All three install from one side of the material — but a standard rivet, a rivet washer, and a rivet nut solve three different problems. SC Fastening Systems breaks down when each one is the right call.

Blind access is the common thread connecting rivets, rivet washers, and rivet nuts — all three let you fasten something when you can only reach one side of the material. But beyond that, they’re not interchangeable. A standard rivet permanently joins two panels together. A rivet washer reinforces a rivet joint in soft or thin material. A rivet nut does something different entirely — it adds a reusable, removable thread to material that otherwise has none. Knowing which problem you’re actually solving is what determines which one you need.

Standard Rivets: Permanent, One-Time Joints

A blind (pop) rivet permanently joins two or more layers of material together. Once it’s set — the mandrel pulled through until it snaps off — that’s the connection. There’s no disassembly without drilling it back out.

• Best for: Panels, enclosures, brackets, and any assembly that’s meant to stay together for the life of the product.
• Key variable: Grip range — the combined thickness of every layer being joined has to fall within the rivet’s rated range, or the joint won’t seat properly.

Rivet Washers: Reinforcement for Soft or Thin Material

A rivet washer — also called a backup washer — sits under the rivet head or on the blind side of the joint to spread clamping force over a wider area. It’s not a different fastener; it’s a reinforcement that changes how a standard rivet performs in certain materials.

• Why it matters: Soft materials like fiberglass, plastic, thin sheet metal, or composite panels can crack, deform, or pull through under a standard rivet head alone. A backup washer distributes that clamping force so the material doesn’t give way at the fastening point.
• Best for: Fiberglass panels, plastic housings, soft or thin sheet stock, and any application where a large-flange rivet alone still isn’t enough surface area.
• A simpler alternative in some cases is stepping up to a large-flange-head rivet instead of adding a separate washer — worth comparing both options against the specific material before committing to one approach.

Rivet Nuts: Adding a Thread Where There Isn’t One

A rivet nut (also called a RIVNUT®, nutsert, or blind rivet nut) solves a completely different problem than a standard rivet. Instead of joining two layers together, it installs into a single pre-drilled hole and creates a permanent, internally threaded insert — giving thin material a reusable thread it wouldn’t otherwise be able to hold.

• How it works: The rivet nut is inserted into the hole and set with a rivet nut tool, which crimps the back section against the blind side of the material — similar in concept to setting a standard rivet, but the result is a threaded hole rather than a permanent joint.
• Why it’s useful: Sheet metal, tubing, and other thin materials are often too thin to tap threads directly — there simply isn’t enough material for threads to hold under load. A rivet nut solves that without welding a nut to the backside or needing access behind the panel.
• Reusable connection: Unlike a standard rivet, a rivet nut is meant to be threaded and unthreaded repeatedly — a bolt can be installed, removed, and reinstalled through it, which makes rivet nuts common in enclosures, access panels, and assemblies that need to come apart for service.
• Body and head style options: Round or hex body (hex resists the insert spinning in the hole under torque), and flat, countersunk, or flange head depending on whether a flush finish or added bearing surface is needed.

The distinction worth remembering: if the goal is joining two pieces of material permanently, that’s a rivet. If the goal is giving thin material a thread that can be bolted and unbolted, that’s a rivet nut — a fundamentally different job even though the installation tooling looks similar.

A Quick Way to Decide

1. Do you just need to join two layers of material permanently? → Standard blind rivet.
2. Is the material soft, thin, or prone to cracking under a standard rivet head? → Add a backup washer, or step up to a large-flange rivet.
3. Do you need a bolt to thread in and out of this connection later? → Rivet nut, not a standard rivet.
4. Is the base material too thin to hold a tapped thread on its own? → Rivet nut is the fix, whether or not disassembly is needed.