Roofing nailer

[blucoondawg]

I've only used the Bostitch line of coil nailers but have worked around senco guns too and they seem dependable. I picked one up at a pawn shop a couple years ago it looks like brand new bit I looked it over and saw it was missing a small spring, I offered the pawn broker 100 bucks for it and ordered a 3 dollar spring online and it's good as new

 

[blucoondawg]

I've only used the Bostitch line of coil nailers but have worked around senco guns too and they seem dependable. I picked one up at a pawn shop a couple years ago it looks like brand new but I looked it over and saw it was missing a small spring, I offered the pawn broker 100 bucks for it and ordered a 3 dollar spring online and it's good as new

 

[JKR]

I have a Bostitch and Senco and Hitachi all very good nailers. I do like the lighter of the Hitachi. I buy what's on sale when I need a tool. The HF guns are to heavy for me.

 

[TugHillDog]

Only gonna chime in here 'cuz I didn't see anyone mention it in this thread: I have a Porter Cable coiled nail roofer [fits on my shelf next to the PC framer and the PC finish nailer that started it all]. I used to pound roof nails for food, not that I ate well, but just the same, I think this is a great piece of equipment. Bought mine at a local Harbor Freight as a reconditioned tool. $ was fan-freaking-tastic and the 15 yrs I've owned it, all I have done is oil it run it. I put the conversion trigger in it so it runs on single shot or full auto, depending on the trigger switch.

But let me just put some wind behind EddieWalker's post: if the nail ain't long enough to get significantly through the roof decking, there will be the devil to pay later...so its about making sure you can get nails of appropriate size through the mixture.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Only gonna chime in here 'cuz I didn't see anyone mention it in this thread: I have a Porter Cable coiled nail roofer [fits on my shelf next to the PC framer and the PC finish nailer that started it all]. I used to pound roof nails for food, not that I ate well, but just the same, I think this is a great piece of equipment. Bought mine at a local Harbor Freight as a reconditioned tool. $ was fan-freaking-tastic and the 15 yrs I've owned it, all I have done is oil it run it. I put the conversion trigger in it so it runs on single shot or full auto, depending on the trigger switch.

But let me just put some wind behind EddieWalker's post: if the nail ain't long enough to get significantly through the roof decking, there will be the devil to pay later...so its about making sure you can get nails of appropriate size through the mixture.

I may as well chime in here as I also have a PC coil roofing gun that I bought to speed up roofing a barn I had. Like my PC finish and narrow crown stapler nailers, I bought based on my personal needs and price. The narrow crown stapler is only about a year old but the finish and roofing nailers are about fifteen. I had to replace the rubber "nose" pad on the larger of the two finish nailers recently. Nice to have parts available on a 15 year old tool.

 

[Hiltz]

But let me just put some wind behind EddieWalker's post: if the nail ain't long enough to get significantly through the roof decking, there will be the devil to pay later...so its about making sure you can get nails of appropriate size through the mixture.[/QUOTE]

Where do you guys get this stuff. Nails do not have to penetrate entirely through the decking for holding power. Why would exposing the nail thru the lumber give it more holding power? (maybe if you bent them over they would be harder to pull out)

 

[TugHillDog]

Where do you guys get this stuff. Nails do not have to penetrate entirely through the decking for holding power. Why would exposing the nail thru the lumber give it more holding power? (maybe if you bent them over they would be harder to pull out)

1. it was the way I was trained.
2. Research indicates that nails tend to do less moving out of the decking if they penetrate through.
3. With the hand method using hot dipped nails, the friction activates the coating some and when it solidifies [having penetrated the decking material] it IS harder to pull them out, both by action of the coating with the wood and the coating outside the wood].

To be fair, I was going on the assumption that most decking was 15/32" plywood and so the nails should just stick out a touch. If the decking is inch board, then it really doesn't matter now, does it?

 

[chopped]

Minimum requirement for roofing nails sticking through sheathing? | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

 

[SPIKER]

FYI

Home Depot has a on-line special for Bostic Nailers today log onto their HD site to see specials.

M

 

[EddieWalker]

Where do you guys get this stuff. Nails do not have to penetrate entirely through the decking for holding power. Why would exposing the nail thru the lumber give it more holding power? (maybe if you bent them over they would be harder to pull out)

The tip of the nail has no holding power. The shaft bends the fibers of the wood as it goes through the wood, or into the wood on larger pieces of wood. On decking, sheething, plywood or OSB, the material is too thin to nail into, you have to nail through it. This also brings in the debate of which holds the nail better. OSB or half inch plywood? In my opinion, OSB does not split and fall apart like plywood does, which means you get more consistent results. If the plywood does not splinter, then it's the same, but the bottom layer,one third of the wood, tends to break off regularly when a nail goes through it. If there is no void at that spot, you only have a third of an inch of wood holding that nail in place. OSB does not doe this.

Nails into larger lumber does the same thing, but with the longer shank, you have more holding power. I use 3 1/4 inch nails when framing because I can see the tip come through two boards when nailed together, which gives me the maximum amount of holding power from that nail. Remember, the tip does not have any holding power, it's just there to allow the nail to penetrate the wood.

Roofers have a terrible reputation in my area of taking advantage of people. They give them a price for the job, then cut all sorts of corners to get it done for less and pocket more money. Not flashing the valleys, reusing old vents, not removing the old paper and sometimes just using it again are all pretty common. But the one that shows up the fastest is when they use short nails. If you have ever seen this cost cutting technique, you will understand how important it is to use long nails when shingling. The short nails penetrate into the decking just like tacking something to the wall. Then when you get a big storm come through, the shingles just start blowing off.

Eddie