Buy or hire nailer for fencing (or screw it)

[Al Reynolds]

Hello,

I need to do a fair bit of closeboard fencing, so I'm wondering whether it's worth me buying or hiring a nail (brad) gun?

My local B&Q only has a "Rapesco Master Nailer PRO181EL" for £39.99 but it's electric powered doesn't look particularly substantial. It does take up to 35mm brads which is the length I need. Anyone have any experience of this?

Should I be nailing at all? It seems like quite a lot of screwing to me, and I'm unlikely to reuse the materials very soon.

Thanks in advance, Al Reynolds

[Andy Hall]

A brad nailer is normally 18 gauge.

This is completely inadequate for fencing - the nails will not hold or will pull through.

For attaching the boards to framing, you need a 15 gauge or better. Smaller numbers are thicker nails. You won't get one of those for £39.99 though......

Yes, that is the way that fencing is normally made. It's difficult to hide the screws, so looks a bit odd.

.andy

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[Dave Liquorice]

The other thing apart from brads havinf f'all head and pulling through is that they are normally plain steel. Will rust very quickly...

[Andy Hall]

You can get galvanised as well, both in 18ga brads and thicker gauge nails, that's generally what I use for interior applications.

For exterior, I generally use stainless steel.

.andy

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[Al Reynolds]

I certainly can't afford to buy a nailer for the little work I'm going to get out of it. So, assuming I hire, I'm looking for a 15g brad nailer and galvanised or stainless steel brads. Does that sound right?

Al

[Jerry Built]

However much have you to do? I think it would have to be a great deal to consider using a nailer, and probably not even then. It won't do as good a job as a hammer and nails, either.

J.B.

[Andy Hall]

Finishing nailer, and try to get about a 13ga one if you can.

Finishing nails have a small head to them whereas brads deliberately don't.

You would probably not easliy get stainless nails from a hire place, but certainly galvanised.

.andy

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[Al Reynolds]

I'm thinking more of speed. I suspect I have only about 400 nails to put in, but combining that with cutting the featheredge boards to variable lengths(the line being fenced is not flat), I was looking for a way to cut out some time somewhere. I suspect I will probably end up just hammering it myself, unless I get the urge to try out a new power tool (should that be power toy?).

Al

[Jerry Built]

Oh! Um!! That's only about 12 metres of fence, then, or four to five bays. I doubt you'll save any time at all. Nailers have trouble dealing with fencing timber sometimes, as it varies a lot from place to place re. how hard it is to get a nail in. You may find that the nails go straight through the board, or if you hit a knot, stay proud. Notes: pick your arris rails with care to avoid weaknesses from knots. I have seen some that snap when you hold on to one end and "bounce" the other end on the ground! Use 50mm galvanised round nails in the centre of the arris, not 38mm, which pull out easily. If you can use gravel boards and level each bay you will get a much better looking result and you will be able to use standard length boards. If you face the fearheredge different ways in each bay you will get a better result than if they all face the same way (less look through, less boring than a single-faced run).

J.B.

[Jerry Built]

Oh! Um!! That's only about 12 metres of fence, then, or four to five bays. I doubt you'll save any time at all. Nailers have trouble dealing with fencing timber sometimes, as it varies a lot from place to place re. how hard it is to get a nail in. You may find that the nails go straight through the board, or if you hit a knot, stay proud. Notes: pick your arris rails with care to avoid weaknesses from knots. I have seen some that snap when you hold on to one end and "bounce" the other end on the ground! Use 50mm galvanised round nails in the centre of the arris, not 38mm, which pull out easily. If you can use gravel boards and level each bay you will get a much better looking result and you will be able to use standard length boards. If you face the fearheredge different ways in each bay you will get a better result than if they all face the same way (less look through, less boring than a single-faced run).

[ is the MIT server down again? (rhetorical question) ]

J.B.

[Andy Hall]

Bullshit. You can get much more consistent and better quality results with a good quality nailer and a great deal more quickly as well. For one thing, the head assembly on a good quality nailer is adjustable to control penetration depth of the nails.

I have five of them, ranging from a 23ga pin nailer used for holding small items in place during gluing (the pins are then virtually invisible), right up to a framing nailer which I used in constructing and roofing a wooden cabin. They are a huge time saver and give great results.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

A nailer is far from a toy and needs to be treated with care and respect.

I built a cabin last year which involved internal cladding and a wooden roof. In terms of small nails (16 and 15 ga) I went through about 1000 and a similar number of stainless framing and roofing nails.

For 400, I would certainly use a nailer now that I have one, but wouldn't use it as the sole purchase justification.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

Not if you use a good quality nailer like a Senco or Porter Cable.

Selection of good quality timber is always important. As long as that is done, there is not likely to be a problem.

.andy

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[Al Reynolds]

Thanks for the advice everyone,

I've decided I'll skip the nailer for this job, but look into it more seriously when I get round to more serious construction in my garden.

BTW for info, I rang a couple of hire places, and they said £20/day or £50/week for a 16ga nailer. Neither had anything immediately available for larger nails, but reckoned they could probably get something from another branch.

Al