Sheathing nails

[PWilks]

Everywhere I read suggests (and often requires) at least 8d common nails for roof and wall sheathing.

I’ve looked at Home Depot and menards to try and find collated 8d * .131” (common nail gauge) for my framing nailer, but they are very hard to find. It appears the common gauge for 8 penny nails is .113”

Should I be using a framing nailer? Or is there a different tool I should be looking for.

Has anyone found collated sheathing nails for a 21 degree framing nailer?

 

[vtjon]

I have a 30deg Paslode nailer but I used 2 3/8 x .113.

It's what the lumber yard sent me so I assume standard around here.

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[Kaizen]

Hd only stocks large buckets in some specs. I had to buy small bostich boxes at 2x the price for my build. If I had a different gun it would have saved me 250 bucks


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[Lynden]

Have you checked the various on-line sources or a well-stocked local lumber yard?

https://www.nailgundepot.com/frh-21...MImMn58ba-6gIVXhitBh1ycQ53EAQYASABEgLjnfD_BwE

 

[egdede]

Those 113 are 'box' sized. Your plans probably call for .131 'common':

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X2259Y4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Most sheathing i've looked into was nailed wrong with a nailer and .113 box nails or nailed by hand with common nails (done right).

I bought a big box of the 131's for shear walls in my basement, I was so scared to set them too deep, that I set it proud and finished nailing by hand. The inspector rubbed his fingers over the hammer-head indentations. He never asked what size nails I used. Inspectors have seemed more likely to me to look at framing nails to make sure they are not clipped head nails.

 

[southernfriedcj]

Should I be using a framing nailer?

Just use 21 degree 2-3/8 gun nails. Use ring shanks if you are concerned about holding.

We buy them and HD or Lowes. When we had a framing crew we would buy them at the nail store by the pallet.

We kept 4 pallets of nails. 3" smooth, 3" RS galvanized, 2-2/3 smooth and 2-3/8 RS galvanized.

We sheath walls and deck roofs with 7/16 OSB. On a Hitachi pistola you need to have the pressure dropped to 80 psi or so to not over drive them. Every now and then you need to drive one home with your hammer.

Around here the housewrap is on before the framing inspection so they can't see the fastners anyway.

 

[nadogail]

Thanks for adding to my education.

 

[nmk_61802]

I believe either is acceptable as long as the fastener spacing is adjusted

 

[PWilks]

Thanks everyone. Very useful information.

I think I’ll stick to the nail gun and turn the pressure way down if I can’t get it set right, just to get them tacked in place, the wack every nail once or twice with a hammer just to send ‘er home.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I like ring shank nails for sheathing and decking. I've had smooth ones back out over time.

 

[egdede]

We kept 4 pallets of nails. 3" smooth, 3" RS galvanized, 2-2/3 smooth and 2-3/8 RS galvanized...Around here the housewrap is on before the framing inspection so they can't see the fasteners anyway.

That is in agreement with I said I believe the general state of affairs to be......And as more roofs fly off of houses in FL, and houses get shaken off their foundations in CA, they just keep adding more inspection intervals to address practices like this.

In my Jx you pay your engineer to stamp an 'engineers report' certifying things are done right. My engineers report as to shear-wall sheathing states that '8d nails were fastened in accordance with the approved plans'.

I pay $250 for my engineer to look at my work and issue the letter. I can imagine your boss complaining about paying for those engineering reports. I'm glad I don't have to work for big places that require me to cut corners anymore. It really saps the soul to know something should have been better.

I believe either is acceptable as long as the fastener spacing is adjusted

Yes, in my Jx if the plans says 8d (common) then you might have to get a stamped plan change if people don't like you. I try to be polite...always.

I like ring shank nails for sheathing and decking. I've had smooth ones back out over time.

Me too. Note the ones I linked to are ring-shank. But, I'm told by my engineer that 8d on plans Means no ring shank. One of the reasons they spec 8d on shear walls in CA because ring shanks tear up framing if they have to be pulled. and, if shear panels are too tight they can amplify forces like a drum head amplifies sound. and, the "structural plywood" they spec in CA doesn't play well water (it wicks water) so because people F everything else up the structural plywood has to come off too often. So, they spec 8d. The things a pointy-head can come up with when you just want to nail some plywood panels up on your basement framing.

with all that said, where I added panels to existing framing not being inspected: I used the linked ring shanks. I'll risk sympathetic vibrations to G-Tee those little bastards hold! And I didn't do it on exterior walls where the plywood could easily get wet and have to be replaced. (From now on I have engineer spec 5/8 CDX instead of 1/2 structural!)

 

[Lynden]

(From now on I have engineer spec 5/8 CDX instead of 1/2 structural!)

Doesn't 5/8" shear paneling require 10d nails and 4x4s or double 2x4s behind the panel edges?

 

[egdede]

^^^It's possible. I'm consulting my engineer in 2 weeks, and I'll ask him. I know the glue used in the structural panels literally wicks water from the edges deep into the field. I might be willing to deal with the extra framing, because CDX has a better exposure rating; just in case bad things happen. I don't see that extra weight as a problem. 3' 8d instead of the required 2 1/2 are rated better too

 

[RTBS]

Common nails are the preferred and tested nails for sheathing in shear walls. If you want to use a smaller size nail you would need to get that approved from your designer. If you can't find them at a box store for a nail gun try a local lumber yard or fastening company. They are available. I wouldn't substitute with a different nail unless you have it in writing from your engineer.

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[matt_i]

I like ring shank nails for sheathing and decking. I've had smooth ones back out over time.

+1 for ring shank, I used some short nails on the endwall truss which is a flat 2x4 of 1-1/2" thick and didn't want the stickout of the 10ds I was hammering. When hand nailing another part of the panel, smooth shank nails started backing out on the other side of it. Not good. I adjusted with torx screws and sourced shorter ring shanks.

 

[southernfriedcj]

I can imagine your boss complaining about paying for those engineering reports. I'm glad I don't have to work for big places that require me to cut corners anymore. It really saps the soul to know something should have been better.

I don't have a "boss".

It really saps the soul to know that I would have to go to work for someone else each day.

I am a builder that has built 900+ houses and I am the boss.

We have not lost one piece of roof decking or wall sheathing yet and every house has been built to code.

Your posts read like some who get's his knowledge from a book and has no actual experience.

I apologize if my use of the pronoun "his" offended you. I can change it if you like.

 

[Bretny]

Ring shank hold like the Dickens. Try to pry a 1/2in sheet of OSB off and your ripping the osb and leaving the nails behind.

 

[egdede]

Just use 21 degree 2-3/8 gun nails. Use ring shanks if you are concerned about holding.

We buy them and HD or Lowes. When we had a framing crew we would buy them at the nail store by the pallet.

We kept 4 pallets of nails. 3" smooth, 3" RS galvanized, 2-2/3 smooth and 2-3/8 RS galvanized.

We sheath walls and deck roofs with 7/16 OSB. On a Hitachi pistola you need to have the pressure dropped to 80 psi or so to not over drive them. Every now and then you need to drive one home with your hammer.

Around here the housewrap is on before the framing inspection so they can't see the fastners anyway.

I don't have a "boss".

It really saps the soul to know that I would have to go to work for someone else each day.

I am a builder that has built 900+ houses and I am the boss.

We have not lost one piece of roof decking or wall sheathing yet and every house has been built to code.

Your posts read like some who get's his knowledge from a book and has no actual experience.

I apologize if my use of the pronoun "his" offended you. I can change it if you like.

Why would that offend me? I just misinterpreted your first comment a little. probably my comment would have been better directed at one of your employees then, huh? Don't get your ******* in a knot bruh. Hope that gendered assumption about underwear doesn't offend you.

Um, I certainly haven't built 900 houses. But I've done some stuff. I did some stuff in Union county GA in the 80's, some work over the state line there in Murphy NC, not far from you. Back then 'builders' didn't have to be licensed at that time. How about in your jurisdiction now? Maybe GA uses tables in their books, tables that recognize a 2 3/8 8d common nail. IDK?

What's 'builder' mean in GA? In CA contractors pass tests to show they know the law (law kept track of in books). 'Builders' either hire contractors or work without license.

The reason i ask, is because you are so specific with your nail sizes and none are 8d common where I have experience. And, um, yes the definition of an 8d nail also comes from a book. It too comes from that group of books called the building code (in CA). An 8d is 2 1/2' so your 2 3/8 aren't "to code" for sheathing. And that was my point. I think. If I recall, 2 3/8 is a box length, not a common length, and also too skinny.

I'm fooling with you calling the law the 'building code'. it's way more complex than that right, a builder would know about 'adopted' codes and such, right
All I know from my experience in CA is that sometimes the inspectors like to look at all the little numbers and letters on the heads of the nails and screws.

Also, ring shank are not "to code" if your plans spec a common nail. And for engineered systems you might not want things nailed too tight in one art of the system. The engineer who stamped the plans for my current foundation replacement on my own home 'learned me that'. He also explained why the nailing schedule on a seismic shear wall in CA had changed from 2" to 4" to 6" over the years. His knowledge came from a book, and he has zero experience. Still, I trust his opinions, he has been stamping building plans for over 40 years and says 'none have fallen down'.

To be clear, I believe your houses could still be very soundly built. Taking care to nail too thin 2 3/8 nails properly is 100 times stronger than blowing through with real 8d nails.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

I don't have a "boss".

It really saps the soul to know that I would have to go to work for someone else each day.

I am a builder that has built 900+ houses and I am the boss.

We have not lost one piece of roof decking or wall sheathing yet and every house has been built to code.

Your posts read like some who get's his knowledge from a book and has no actual experience.

I apologize if my use of the pronoun "his" offended you. I can change it if you like.

Houses rarely structurally fail BUT....... "IF" they do fail or have ANY structural problems (that end up in litigation) a professional licensed engineer "who gets his knowledge from a book" (and had passed required exams) is what the courts go by...... NOT "experience".

I have been told by some contractors: "This is the way I have done it for 25 years and never had a problem!"
I have told them: "You have been doing it wrong for 25 years and this is what the state adopted codes and the approved plans say how to do it"
The contractor replies: "I just did it last week that way down at the shore!"
I have replied: "OK, then tell me where the job is and I will call the inspector or architect and tell them about the code infractions!"

BTW! I don’t want to offend anyone but architects and engineers are "KING" when it comes to design. Sadly, I have seen some VERY POOR drawings and designs by licensed professionals that a good contractor with years of experience has "caught" and corrected....... Thankfully experience wins over minimal requirements from a code book.