Nail guns

[Matty F]

In a recent programme of "Grand Designs" it was stated that UK builders building new houses tend to use hammers to drive in nails rather than use nail guns. Is this true at all?

[Steve Firth]

Yes, it's true. There are exceptions, but not many. Builders dont' seem to like Passlode type nailers except for specialist applications - too costly for nails and the nailer, I suspect. Compressed air nailers aren't liked because of the trailing hoses.

I have both a coil nailer and a couple of small staplers/bradders. I prefer them to swinging a hammer. They are fast and create a good finish. Air nailers are IMO superior to other types because they set the nail properly and have little or no kickback. Worst of all are the electric nailers/staplers. I have a Tacwise model and it's useless. Noisy, kicks back, makes a mess of the wood.

[dom]

Not any more.

There may be a few diehards, and of course there are situations where a nail gun is too brutal, and screws have displaced nails in many applications - but generally nailguns are commonplace amongst builders.

[Arfa Daily]

Recent ? Have I missed the start of a new series ?

Arfa

[Jon Fairbairn]

I don't know about new build, but all the council owned houses round the corner from me were re-roofed recently, and there were definitely nail guns in use then.

[Tim Streater]

And staple guns the same? Made constructing scenery in the US rather easier when you just shot glue-tipped inch-long staples in.

Now - what about double-headed nails? These had a rim about 1/2" down from the head, so you hammered down to the rim. Made it easier when later using a claw-hammer to remove them. Do we see those in the UK?

[Matty F]

Recently shown on my TV. It's probably quite old. It's quite common here in NZ to make the wall framing accurately in a nice dry factory and stick it all together on site quickly wih nailguns.

Designs Series 2 Episode 2: Sussex

This programme follows recently married couple Jane Warren and Willem Mulder as they build their dream home in Sussex. Inspired by houses of New England, Jane bought a plot of land including a derelict bungalow which she demolished to replace with an imported American Kit House. Experts in this pioneering build method fly in from America to get the project started. After the team return to the States, the build progresses in the hands of a British workforce who have to adapt their skills to this new building specification.

[Bruce]

Unfortunately, yes it is.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Matty F saying something like:

Not from what I've seen.

[Bruce]

A housing association has recently completed a three-storey block of flats within sight and earshot of my house, and for several months, all I could hear at my desk (I work from home) was the sound of nails being hammered in by hand. I watched them erect the roof trusses, and all the major work was done with hand driven nails. However the purlins were fixed very rapidly with a nail gun.

If you ever watch the Canadian TV programme "Holmes on Homes" it is quite a stark contrast to the UK building trade because of the sheer number of specialist tools used where we seem to use older and more primitive methods. I suspect Matty F's New Zealand more closely replicates the Canadian approach.

[John Rumm]

Yup, that was on years ago here. I remember the comment about nail guns at the time - although it is perhaps not surprising since they prefab much of it in a factory and nail it together there, and expect to carry on in the same way on site.

Timber frame building is less the norm here, so work is less nail intensive. Some builders IME do use guns, but not to the extent you see in places like the US.

[Tim Streater]

Anywhere in a earthquake zone (e.g. most of California) will use timber-frame construction for domestic buildings.

[Steve Walker]

In my limited experience, not it isn't.

[Frederick Williams]

Make and model?

[Steve Firth]

What's that little word we use?

[Weatherlawyer]

The problem is cost a efffect. You need the work to make it pay otherwise an hammer is cheaper. some contracts are worth buying one for. Some hiring is less expesive.

Most builders don't have space for storage. And getting a 300 quid tool ripped off is a lot of money to feed a smack-head's habit for a couple of days.

The other factor is that most British work tends to vary widely from one job to the next. Repairing an old house, building a shed, fitting a porch, replacing windows.

A British joiner is expected to know how to do all this stuff. And having a nailgun at home in the garage to do any of it isn't as handy as carrying a hammer on a belt for immediate use as and when.

A lot of Canadian and US construction is compartmentalised into specialist part trades. Some of the workforce are ace with nail guns. Most of the workforce never see an hammer.

Where they are worth having is when the shoddy specs allow the use of skimpy materials. the days of the 5 x 2 stud partition went before my time and the 4x 2 went when I was young.

These days 2 x 3 white pine is a rarity and composite studwork requires guns not hammers. You can't use a nail on a piece of 2 x 2 that will be strong enough and long enough without being wide enough to last long. And you will need to use a lot more bracing.

It will just split the wood. But shoot it at high speed and it will not split and you can use brittle, hard nails. But you must use many more of them or they will just snap. But they help as bracing.

[Weatherlawyer]

No it's an early venture into the build my white shed genre.

Do you really watch that crap?

Don't answer me. I won't be following this thread.

[Arfa Daily]

What a very odd person. Why ask the question if you don't want the answer ? In fact why look at the thread in the first place, make a very reasonable post, and follow it 2 minutes later with another that says you won't be following the thread anyway ... ???

But just in case, the answer is yes, I do watch that "crap". I like to see the hare-brained projects that people come up with, and just sometimes, the schemes or materials that they use to overcome issues, are noteworthy.

Arfa

[Matty F]

Same In New Zealand. Because earthquakes are common in some areas, most buildings here have timber frames. So naturally most NZ house builders have nail guns. Not that earthquakes are a problem where I live. I've never felt one.

[Matty F]

Some of the projects look unlikely to be finished, yet they do finish them. Perhaps the failures are censored. One day I may have the courage to show my biggest ever house project!