I hate working with large nails, so the boxes of nails at home are just collecting dust year after year. Now I have some 45x70 battens to put up on the rafters (no roof sheathing) and thought I should finally use up the nails.
If the nails should be three times the thickness of the wood, according to the rule of thumb, I should use six-inch nails. That seems excessively large. What do professional carpenters use?
If the nails should be three times the thickness of the wood, according to the rule of thumb, I should use six-inch nails. That seems excessively large. What do professional carpenters use?
Nail pick, hand nailing might be better and it's good that you're using what you have but it might be expensive to hand nail where it doesn't add any direct value.
Hand nail the facade instead, there it is more attractive, durable, and makes future maintenance easier and cheaper.
Hand nail the facade instead, there it is more attractive, durable, and makes future maintenance easier and cheaper.
But what nail size do the professionals use in the nail gun when they nail framing lumber? I have a nail gun for the facade, but it can't handle five-inch nails and definitely not regular hammer nails.F fribygg said:
My experience as a handyman carpenter on an old farm tells me that 6" nails are just right, but I also find that 5" nails hold quite well. When you then step down to the thinner 4" nails, they usually hold fairly well too, but not always. Therefore, if for some reason you use 4" to nail 2" studs, you usually use 2 nails and preferably drive them at a slight angle to each other to improve the locking.
If you've dismantled various building structures, you know how much better a 6" nail holds than 2 of the 4".
Then you should assess how critical it is for the nail joint to hold. For example, the ends are generally more important to secure thoroughly than the middle of a stud. Thick nails near end grain require pre-drilling.
If you've dismantled various building structures, you know how much better a 6" nail holds than 2 of the 4".
Then you should assess how critical it is for the nail joint to hold. For example, the ends are generally more important to secure thoroughly than the middle of a stud. Thick nails near end grain require pre-drilling.