Carpentry Of Homes,,, Nail Diameter,, and Codes?

[Howling]

Addition to framing nails the metal connecting plates require large diameter nails, .148". There are specialty nail gun for these plate with the nail tip exposed to line up with the plate holes.

 

[CADplans]

I was fixing a wood fence for my mother back in the mid 1960's, using lag bolts to attach 1" thick boards to posts,,

I was suffering terribly, screwing those lag bolts in with a wrench,,
Well, my mid 80's year old grandmother came walking by, and saw me suffering,,
she said, "That is not how to use lag bolts!!"

She picked up a hammer, and drove that lag bolt in like it was a nail,,,
then, I just had to turn the lag bolt about a half turn to finish tightening the lag bolt,,

WOW!!, she shocked me that she knew anything about construction,,,

 

[natedog75]

Having used collated nails in a pinch I find them desiring to drive without bending over. I drive a lot of nails everyday and can hit the head square. But the shanks just don’t hold up to knots or resistance. The nail guns have enough punch to slam the nail home without much issue.

Another issue I have been made aware of is sheer strength of construction screws vs nails. Take a screw and bend it back and forth a couple of times and it will break right off. Do the same with a 16 penny nail and you will be surprised at how long you will be there.

Another note. Bulk nails have a glue coating activated by friction. Nail gun nails have the same but it seems hand nailed nails are always more of a pain to remover than nail gun nails.

I would rather disassemble a nail gun constructed item than a hand nailed item any day of the week. The nail gun nails just don’t have that same holding power.

That being said. If we are framing it up we are using nail guns if the compressor is already out. If not and it is not structural it gets screwed together. Hand nailing is reserved for small projects that would take longer to get out the air compressor. Sometimes I will hand nail if I have nails in my tool belt. Most of the time I can hand nail it faster than walking to get the compressor.

One item I have found that I refuse to use a gun for is vinyl siding. I can have two pieces of siding up and hand nailed before we can get slots lined up for a nail gun for a single piece. They are just a pain to get into position on the slot. If you know how to flip nails or can get in sync on reaching into the bag for the next nail while you put the second lick on the nail you just set you can fly doing vinyl siding.

 

[not2old]

I recently put a duroid roof on my new garage using a borrowed Bostich gun. Way too many heads that didn't sit flat and needed finishing with a hammer. I would have switched to hand nailing if I hadn't already purchased a case of nails. I do plan on buying a nail gun to do the Hardie Board siding and hope it works out better.

 

[clemsonfor]

I recently put a duroid roof on my new garage using a borrowed Bostich gun. Way too many heads that didn't sit flat and needed finishing with a hammer. I would have switched to hand nailing if I hadn't already purchased a case of nails. I do plan on buying a nail gun to do the Hardie Board siding and hope it works out better.

You need to turn up your regulator or adjust the gun so the heads go flush or just under.

 

[natedog75]

I recently put a duroid roof on my new garage using a borrowed Bostich gun. Way too many heads that didn't sit flat and needed finishing with a hammer. I would have switched to hand nailing if I hadn't already purchased a case of nails. I do plan on buying a nail gun to do the Hardie Board siding and hope it works out better.

I agree with Clemson. You have to have the right air pressure and the gun setup correctly. If you take the time to dial it in it works very well.

You also have a big enough compressor to keep the air pressure consistent. Most small pancake compressors cannot keep up. I use a Dewalt that runs at 5cfm with a tank pressure of 225 psi. When the tank drops to 190 the compressor kicks on. It’s a 100% duty cycle compressor. My tank pressure stays way above the pressure my gun is running at. This gives very consistent results.

Hitachi makes an excellent siding gun that we use for hardie. Just don’t try to hang hardie with a framing gun or a roofing gun. Both will disappoint you quickly. The framing gun will destroy the hardie. You can’t get a long enough nail in a roofing gun to get deep enough into a stud.

 

[CADplans]

Talking about pneumatic guns,, I want to put up 3/8" beadboard in the basement attached to the 2X4s I will be using the framing gun to assemble,

What pneumatic gun should I use to hang the beadboard? I have a 1/4" wide stapler, with 1 3/8" staples,, and I have a Porter Cable finish nailer,,
Will one of these tools hang the beadboard (it looks like T111 board, except more grooves) , or do I need some other tool?

 

[4570Man]

An 18 gauge. I usually use a 16 gauge for larger trim.

 

[jimmychew]

I've been a carpenter for over 30 years. Have lots of guns and built plenty of houses with them. Most of my work now is remodeling and I hand nail almost everything. Hot dipped galvanized framing nails for interior and exterior framing. Stainless steel ring shank roofing nails. Stainless ring shank siding nails. I still use finish guns with stainless steel nails, especially for exterior pvc trim.

 

[CADplans]

An 18 gauge. I usually use a 16 gauge for larger trim.

My stapler is a 1/4" narrow crown 18 gauge,, so it sounds like that will be my first attempt at hanging the beadboard,,

I used it recently to re-do some fencing in the garden,, those staples hold pretty good,,
I even reattached the 4 foot tall wire fence to the posts,,
I did go back and used some double barbed staples to re-staple the places that the pneumatic stapler was used.