Getting ready to stock up for summer projects at Menards 17% sale. Some roofing planned, single shingles over 1/2" plywood and OSB. Saw some commercial projects lately with a lot of the nail length hanging down below the OSB. Seems to me the extra length is wasted, hence the question about optimum length. Would 1 1/2" be best for a decent quality shingle and 30 lb. felt?
Joe
As long as the nail is long enough to penetrate all the way through the plywood or osb you should be in good shape.
some shingle wrappers state that the nail mush penetrate the sheathing by 1/8". I most commonly see roofers using 1 1/4" nails.
Anything less than 1 1/4" is a pain to nail and the job would probably take longer. So for pros, the few pennies saved on nails is wasted on labor(most pros would use a gun, but some claim hand nailing is better).
As other have said as long as the nail sticks out a certain amount (I don't know the code) its ok. If you think about nailing vinyl siding on 1/2" OSB, a 3/4" nail should work but would cause allot of smashed fingers.
The shingle installation instructions should specify a minimum penetration.
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