A stoopid baseboards and brads question

[William MacBain]

Are 18 guage brad nails sufficient for attaching base boards?

TIA

[Buck Turgidson]

I'm no expert, but I just put down baseboards and oak 1/4 rounds in my basement. I used a 15 gauge finish nailer (2 1/2" nails) for the bb, and an

18 gauge (2") for the 1/4 rounds.

If the the 18 gauge nails are long enough, it might work, but I'd be inclined to go with the stouter 15 gauge.

[Pat Barber]

[bay area dave]

I too use a 15 ga. nail gun (2 1/2")

dave

William MacBa> Are 18 guage brad nails sufficient for attaching base boards?

[William MacBain]

But I only have an 18 guage brad nail gun. :-(

[Todd L]

You will be fine with that.

Todd L

[bay area dave]

so? you have a PERFECT excuse to run out this morning a buy a new toy! :) Seriously, you NEED to use a heavier nail, William. Get the 2 1/2" nails. After going through the baseboard and the sheetrock you've got APPROX. (depends of course on the thickness of the baseboard) an inch and a half imbedded in the studs or sole plate. I have several PC nailers, but hear lots of guys like the Senco oilless units. I didn't buy them at the time because the rubber grips were flimsy. If I'm not mistaken, Senco has improved them.

dave

William MacBa> bay area dave wrote:

[Buck Turgidson]

Use it, and sink in some finish nails every few feet for good measure with a thing called a hammer.

[mttt]

You'll likely get a lot of "Nope!"'s. And I'd agree. But I suppose you could use long brads and then augment them with an adhesive. As long as you like those baseboards, as is, for a long time.

[jo4hn]

The 18s are a bit flimsy but we're not talking a structural piece here. The worst that can happen is that when once comes loose (if ever), you hammer an 8d finish in. mahalo, jo4hn

[bridger]

the variable we don't have here is length. If you don't have enough penetration into the stud the nail won't have any holding power. What is the thickness of the baseboard, how long are the brads and what is between the baseboard and the stud?

You can get around the gauge issue (in a pinch) by using more nails. with a little practice you can even drive several brads in the same hole by angling them differently and orienting the chisel tips differently.

Note that 18G brads are less likely to split near the ends (like if you have to nail a miter) than the heavier 15G ones.

[mike]

I use a 15 gauge nailer but if you do not have one the brad nailer, 2" brads and a spot of panel adhesive every foot or so will do in a pinch.I'm assuming your base is 11/16" thick and the wall is 1/2' drywall. There is enough nail to hold the base until adhesive dries. mike

[Bannerstone]

Really a 15 ga nailer pulls/draws the base up to the uneven parts of the wall much better than an 18 ga. If you really must use an 18 ga nailer, I'd recommend a bead of construction adhesive along the back of the baseboard.

If you're doing a small amount of work hand nailing is always an option. Opps there I've gone and blasphemed. :)

David

[Leon]

If that is all you have, shoot them in at an angle alternating the angle back and forth so that they have more holding grip and shoot a few extra.

[Greg O]

No. Greg

[Greg O]

A 15 or 16 gauge will do much better. 18 guage will not get enough holding power to pull the base against the wall, especially where there may be a slight dip in the wall, the base will just pull away again. I have used an 18 guage, then bought a 16 gauge and was much more pleased with the results. A 15 guage would be best. Greg

[Tony Mo]

When I bought my compressor 4 years ago it came with a 18 gauge brad nailer. I put up three rooms of baseboard and then quarter round with it and they haven't fallen down yet. Sure, 15 gauge may be better, but if all you have is an 18 then use it. You sure as heck don't want to driller, hammer and then counter sink with a nail set do you? YUK! "Keep your stick on the ice" Tony