New 3-Board Fence Going up

[podzie]

I have about 1,000 linear feet of fencing to do here in the next few weeks. I've decided on treated 2x6x16 rails (pine) on 4x6 posts.

Today I went to look at fasteners. I planned on using a framing nail gun with a little compressor powered by my Bobcat welder/generator. But the largest ring shank nails I see that will fit the gun are 3"x.120.

Am I headed down a bad path? Are there larger nails somewhere I'm not looking? Should I be looking at something else for the fasteners? The 3" just seems way too short for a full rough cut 2" board?

Thanks guys for your input!

[6sunset6]

Rule of thumb 1/3 of fastener in first board 2/3 in the fasten it to board.
I would use 3 1/2 screws the new ones with the star looking heads. Use a cordless drill and a 1.5" long bit and drive the heads in a bit. More expensive than nails but they will not pull out when the rails dry out. Those new screws don't strip out like phillips or even the square ones. Lot of screws though.
3" nails are 10d you can get 12 d 3 1/4 galvos they are coated but I am not sure about ring shank. . Drive them a little deep ahh still not enough on the far side. You could squirt some water resistant glue on the joint before nailing with the 3 inch ring shanks. That would work. The glue does the work , the nails provide clamping pressure. I have built hugh trusses in the field like that . Structures are still up 30 years later. Tough to take apart , the wood will break before the glue lets go. Better dry wood than green though. NO perfect answer , I guess

[podzie]

Thanks for that. Funny you mentioned the star head screws. We just got hit by Hurricane Ike and I boarded up my windows using those in plywood. They sure are slip-proof!

I wonder if maybe I should just jump down to a 1" rail board?

[czechsonofagun]

I used 3.5 nails for our fencing, but IMHO Texas gets worse storms than Virginia.

[Egon]

There are framing nailer's that will take longer nails.

As stated, you may want to look into exterior grade Robertson/torx headed screws. They should come in a length and Gage to suit your needs.

[shvl73]

How much cfm does your compressor put out? Will it run a palm nailer? I jus bought a small palm nailer (SENCO Air-Powered Nailers, Staplers, and Fasteners) for joist hanger nails. Its great. It runs easily on my small twin tank Makita compressor. It will do up to 16d (3-1/2") nails. There a bigger versions Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices.
It drives them fast and you can use 20d pole barn nails that are cheap.

[have_blue]

I wonder if maybe I should just jump down to a 1" rail board?

I was thinking that when you first mentioned the 2x6 rails.

I don't think you would like 1" regular wood (which are only 3/4"), but I think you would like true 1" rough boards. They may be hard to find treated. You can also save a few bucks on screws. 3" are fine for 1" boards. And I highly recommend stainless steel screws.

[FrogLick]

I can't even imaging using 2 x 6 stock for rails! What are you planning on keeping in (or out)?! The 2x stock would be much more expensive and certainly a lot heavier and difficult to install. Lots of the 3 rail fences around here with all the horse farms (I have one) and they are all built using 1x rails.

[firefighter9208]

If your working by yourself "tack it" with the framing nailer and then go back and use screws. It's a lot easier to (bam, bam) with a framing nailer than to try and hold up the board with one knee, hold the drill with the other hand, and hold the screw with the other hand.

I don't think I would use just nails, as they will back out over time. I would go ahead and use the full 2" wood. It should warp as bad on you or break as easily as 1".

Just my opinion.

Chris

[Mike_Kanzer]

Hi-
Is this fence for livestock? I would be careful of using treated wood if it is for horses. They tend to chew on wood and could ingest the copper compound in the treated pine. We used rough cut oak boards (1" x 6" x 16ft) and they work well, though some do twist alot when they dry out. Just my 2 cents.