WHen I wwas talking about truss bracing, there were a few suggestions that even the type of nail to use was part of the spec.
So, when it comes to nailing in wooden herringbones (or steel ones for that matter), or nailing truss clips to the wall plates, are there special nails to use, or would 50mm round wire nails suffice?
Thanks
Chris
====== Waiting for a topic to come up that I know all about, so I can do some answering for a change!
Given how cheap good quality screws are
OKay, that makes sense... probably easier to wield a recharageble scredriver than a hammer... I'll also get away with working later in the evening ;-)
OKay, so i'll want 40 or 45mm long, but what about the thickness? i suspect the sizes 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 are mm thickness of the core of the scre (not the thread)? i.e. a different numbering system to No.4, No.6, No. 8 and so on. Close enough to be confusing.
If thats the case case 4 x 40mm would seem about right?
Cheers, Chris
Yes, I almost never use nails.
Christian.
Metric screws are generally measured on their clearance drill size, not the pilot.
I think I would use 5x50mm for this application. I would predrill the struts, too. I might pilot drill the joists, depending on how hard it was to get the first couple in. Having multiple drills available helps!
Even though quicker, I wouldn't use nails. Hammering sideways into the joist is likely to disturb and crack the ceiling.
Christian.
It also results in less stress on the existing structure, Popped clouts in plasterboard are the bane of my existence.
By an odd sequence of events I have 3 cordless drills... which i've noticed helps enourmously for clearancedrill + screwdriver.
I've also found those all-in-one clearace + counter bore + countersink bits pretty useful last time i boarded my loft (before I moved)
Ah, exactly the reason I am doing all loft related work before decorating bedrooms and bathroom. I'd also built in to my DIY plan, time to fill where the plaster will pop off the screw heads... I'm sure that will happen, but using screws might keep it to a minimum
Likewise. With an impact driver easily capable of driving 6x100mm screws into undrilled softwood, it's quick and easy to stiffen up any structure.
what do you think of screws rather than nails to put on slates? I see many roofers still using the hammer but I use screws myself whenever I repair a roof.
Are they using copper clouts? I guess nowadays a stainless steel screw might be a durable alternative, although the head diameter might not be ideal.
most people I see are using standard galvanised slab nails to secure the asbestos slates although the same people most often use the anodised screws to put up the slabs. what say the experts about screws on the slates?
Any one who uses screws or galvanised nails for fixing slates, wants them sticking where the sun don't shine. Copper or Aluminium are the only nails used for fixing slates. Its obverse that you have never tried to remove a slate from a roof fixed with screws or galvanised nails. Not only do the rust but are bastards to get out.
I see what you're getting at - the fact that a slaters nail ripper can't be used when a single slate needs replacing - I see sense of copper nails.
A ripper would just as easily break a screw out of the lathe. In a storm, screws would probably hold out better than nails but many slaters use ordinary slab nails for slates and they are long gone and forgotten about before any damage would arise. However in a severe storm a roof slated with brass screws would probably give a better grip but would they stand the test of time. Thats the real question. Repairing a roof that is about two hundred and fifty years old recently I find that a lot of the old iron slating nails are rusted nearly to death probably from dampness and condensation. Its a pretty good record for iron because they had no protective coatings then. After a certain age iron starts to rust and knit into the lathes and I guess it is almost like a screw then. The cordless drill and screws is so handy and vibration free it is definitely the best option for repairing a roof.
We are talking rooves here, not engineering machines, aren't we?
The use of a rip. For the cutting through and removal the copper, zinc or alloy slate nails. If the slates have been fixed with iron, galanised or any type of screw all that will happen is the lath will snap or a piece will brack off. Yes any screw will hold but it not a professional way its done. Any roofing contractor using any other fixing method other than copper or alloy nail for fixing slates. would be class as a cowboy.
The rip can and is used for single and top half broken slate removal !!
Yes, my unsderstanding is that is so. It has to be said that nailing is far less fashionable than it once was. Perhaps that is due to ready availability of decent screwdriving tools.
The last time I put in trusses it came with a booklet from the Trussed Roof Association and IIRC 3mm x 75mm galvanized nails were specified for nailing most it together. That nail size is excellent for fixing herringbones though you might neeed to drill a pilot 2.5mm hole to avoid splitting.
IMHO whatever you use should be galvanized (or perhaps in some cases stainless steel or brass) for anything even remotely exposed to outdoor conditions - & that includes attics.
The snag with nails is that rust eventually rots them away, usually near the entry point into the wood. With screws it is wood drying out and shrinking around the thread, leaving them loose. OTOH an old risted screw firmly embedded in wood can be a devil to get out.
Someone somewhere must have studied or measured the comparative grip of nails and screws, but the results have never crossed my path. My guess is that a good nail with a rough shank exerts much more grip than an equivalent wood screw.
I suppose you pays your money and sees what happens; if you're lucky it won't be you, but the next-but-one-owner of your house.
HTH
It does. Studies have been done...
keith_765 wrote: > Any roofing contractor using any other fixing method other than copper or
I wonder if anyone else would agree with this?
Would you agree that 52 years as a slater & tiler counts for the comments I made
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