I'm replacing a few old split rafters with new ones, made of new 'green' oak. Someone said use stainless steel nails because of corrosion from the oak. Should I drill pilot holes in either wood? Would some kind of screw be better or worse? [george]
nailing green oak to old oak - pilot holes?
Jun 28, 2014
4 Replies
proper way is through holes & pegs, these tighten as green oak shrinks
Yes - or brass. I'd use screws personally. There are some ScrewTite style self cutters in stainless (I used loads for guttering).
Can look up the source if you like.
Yes for anything bigger than tiny. Especially SS screws - very easy to twist their heads off.
As above :)
I would always (maybe I would make an exception for very small screws if I didn't have a suitable sized drill bit to hand)use a pilot hole in hardwoods (drilling a pilot hole is the work of seconds and I can see no downsides if the pilot is a suitable size.
Using screws would mean no hammering(vibrations) in the, ceiling, near pipework etc, and they are removable (without lots of effort).
You will need pilot holes in the old oak anyway, I can tell you that. Nails just bend without.
And steel is corroded by the tannic acid in oak.
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