Thinking about using these Hurriquake nails when I build my house in a few months
on Vancouver Island. It would only add about $100 to the cost of the house, but with
the earthquake potential here it seems like a prudent move. It will be a
2500 sq ft rancherwith 25 ft valulted roof.
Has anyone have a comments in regards to these?
BTW you have a nice portfolio Mike.
Thanks: Dean bccomoxvalley At yahoo.ca
Looks good, for the cost they are worth it if your in a earthquake/hurricane zone.
the product looks like a scam, and your message looks like spam. A damn ring shank nail is not going to help one bit in a hurricane or an earthquake.
Why do you say that Steve..enlighten me? Look at the engineering reports on this. It even won the Popular Science award for 2006. Tell me why would it not work in an earthquake?
Dean
This isnt a spam, its a bostch nail. Research before you accuse.
I don't have any experience with them, but from everything I have heard/read they are a good choice. They solve three issues at once, that are found in hurricanes, and I am sure that they would help in earthquakes too. Not to mention the occasional wind storm that has swept through the lower mainland recently.
The three most common failures of a nail during a storm are:
1) nail shears off where the wood pieces meet. These nails have a straight shaft to maximize their strength at this point. 2) wood gets pulled off nail. These nails have a larger head, to minimize tear through. 3) nail gets pulled out of wood. The spiral end of the nail has a better hold in the wood.So, enjoy the island and spend the extra $100 to help ensure it is a long lasting enjoyment.
Carolyn
Link?
Thank you for posting this. I've been through earthquakes and am interested in something new like this. I found the link below and a video at the bottom of the page...
Go here and click on the Hurriquake graphic, get rid of the pop-up, then click on the "Product Demonstration" video on the bottom.
Many big name manufacturers have produced "SCAM" products.
The links all lead back to the flash cartoon. No specific engineering studies of any kind are discussed there.
I've heard excellent things about everything they're purported to do, which is increase holding strenght against shear, pullout and pullthrough.
However, contractors hate them because you can't "undo" them - ie, if you fasten something incorrectly (in the wrong place, to the wrong thing, upside down etc) you're kinda skunked. Any attempt to undo the mistake results in taking action that the nail is specifically designed to counteract (and does so amazingly well).
This is the biggest issue when using them in a gun, where it's easy to just shoot without thinking.
My $0.02...
A properly nailed house with regular nails will perform just fine in an earthquake. The nails shown appear to be a fancy form of ringshank. They might be worth the cost in a hurricane zone IF the rest of the house has been properly designed for 170 mph. Otherwise, they are a waste of money.
I wouldn't spend the money on my house. I would just make sure the house was correctly nailed according to the code and my design criteria.
Ring shank nails have been around for 50 years that I know of so what's the big deal?
Thanks for the information. We have a wealth of knowledge here, and I will use them if my contractor has no real issues. I will have to check local code also I guess. For less than $ 100.00 it seems like a nominal cost.
Dean
Warning: Long & potentially boring post
I would generally concur with Mr. Morrison's comments on the this nail plus I'll had my testing experience with shearwalls.
When we cyclically tested shearwalls in the lab we classically got nail failure just below the surface (~1/8 to 1/4") of the framing member. I argued that this was due to the excessive number of cycles that the test sequence imposed on the shearwall & not necessarily the kind of failure one would get in an earthquake or high wind situation.
Occasionally we got nail pull through but again since we had lots of cycles in our tests we tended to "force" nail fatigue failure to occur.
Additionally, since the introduction of nail guns....nail heads have gotten smaller PLUS nail heads are the same size for a 6d gun nail thru a 16d. Per FF-N-105 (old nail spec) gun makers got to spec head size, the newer nail spec probably allows this as well.
So with gun nails, even as withdrawl resistance goes up (long nail & bigger wire diameter) pull through resistance actually goes down. On hand driven nails head size increases with nail size.
About 10 years again I suggested a "Super Shearwall Nail" to my CE/SE associates.....
bigger head (not just a wimpy 25% increase in head area but an even bigger head than "old school" hand driven nails, a head more like a roofing nail.
ring shank only on 1/2 of the shank
everyone said...."Cool idea, Bob but nobody will use them unless they're cheaper than current nails" and based on the realities of the construction business they were correct.
Since these nails appear collated for gun use, my guess is that the "inventor" probably just bumped up the head diameter to the limits of guns currently on the market......not nearly enough increase in head diameter to make a real difference. Plus since these are .113" diameter, they're at the low end of nail size so as to get the best head diameter to shank diameter ratio. A .113" diameter nail is pretty small for shearwalls, .131 is a better choice.
The screw feature under the head (IMO) is baloney......."filling" the void caused by the rings, Not!
But since using them won't cost anything more than the cost of the nails......I guess you could give them a try.
If you really want to improve the wind / eq performance of your house.......
consider
up sizing your shearwalls (1/2 ply not 3/8), use some burly hold downs
add some more shearwalls than just code minimum.
cheers Bob
BobK is correct. A 0.113" diameter is the same as a 6d common. Pretty small for shear wall nailing. Using 6d nails @ 6" o/c with 3/8" sheathing will get you 200 plf allowable shear. Go to 8d nails @ 6" o/c and 15/32" sheathing and the capacity jumps to 260 plf (30% increase). Close the spacing to 4" o/c and the allowable capacity is 380 plf (or almost twice).
I don't specify anything smaller than 0.131" x 2-1/2" (8d common). Note: I'm now specifying diameter and length. The framer can decide how best to meet that spec with the equipment he has available.
Except for roof sheathing in high wind zones, withdrawal resistance isn't all that important for shear wall/diaphragm nails. If withdrawal resistance is an issue I suggest using screws. Simpson Strong-tie has a screw system that has been tested and has ICBO/ICC certification for use in diaphragms and shear walls.
And don't forget the 3" square plate washers on your anchor bolts.
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