I am preparing to demo some old cedar lap siding on a single wall construction home in Portland, Oregon. I will then insulate/sheerwall/tyveck/install new cedar lap siding. My cedar supplier recommends only hand drive 8p ringshank, galv.,primed nails for the installation of the new siding. I have a Max siding nailer that would obvioulsly be much faster to nail with. If I used a no mar tip & cut down on the compressor volume, what are the reasons to not go this route? Any suggestions? I know I can buy 10lbs. of the hand drives for $25, gun nails would be a bit more. It seems the issue here is not to drive the nail too deep & also what nails are available for a coil nailer that won’t streak the cedar. Would love some feedback. Thanks!
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I have never had good luck with gun hailing cedar claps. either they sink the nails to much or they leave proud, either way I have had better luck with hand nailing.
To be safe, cedar = stainless steel nails, whether hand driven or gun nailed. IMO, anyway.
FWIW, I've always hand driven SS ringshanks thru cedar claps, but gun in SS into cedar shingles. Never tried to gun nails into the claps, might have to give it whirl some time.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
I gun nailed most of my cedar siding, using Paslode mech galvanized stick nails and an Impulse nailer (cordless). No problems to report. Might have had to drive the odd nail flush, had a few sink too deep. Mine is a rustic siding job, with no stain.
Another option is the way we do it at work. we put a few top nails in each course as its getting installed then back nail the whole wall with the 15ga finish nailer. We just use galvanized nails but be sure they get filled properly. The other advantage to this is it allows you to get a perfectly straight nail line by snapping a vertical nail line at every stud.
Man.... I dunno.... hanging cedar claps with 15 ga finish nails? Can't say I agree with that advice. I'm kinda partial to using siding nails when I install..... siding.View Image
Finish nails on siding?. I don't mean to be critical but that's about the most foolish thing I can imagine.
When they built my house 23 years ago, they used 6 penny galv finish nails on the cedar claps. I've been replacing the siding/double nailing with SS ringshanks regularly due to cupping issues from the claps curling past the heads. They were trying to minimize visible nail heads, and succeeded in creating a visible nightmare for the HO - me!
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
From about 20 years ago, I still have a bucket of old 5d finish siding nails, hot dip galv. I never did like them much, and they had a larger head than a finish nail. we changed to SS ring siding nails shortly after I bought them.
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were they a 5d casing nail???
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They were marked as an exterior trim nail. The shank was too slim for casing. You could drive it trough slim cedar claps OK, but brickmold or 5/4 casing would be too much for it, esp if it hit the nailing flange on a window. The slim was good for not splitting the cedar grain though
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
was wundering...
don't believe I've seen what yur talking about...
but have seen the shorter casing...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Hang on while i get the camera out
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Dang it all - I remember moving that bucket this past winter while sorting things around. You think I could find it now to save my life?
Next week it will probably fall of the shelf and kill me now...
;)Anyhow, I shot a photo or two. These nails line up from left to right_
The little prepainted ring guys that we used for cement asbestos siding.
Then the SS ring trim nails we use no in 2-1/2" size. 2" is fine for siding.
Then galv 8d finish
Then the casing nails.So for comparison, the nails I was talking about had a wire shank about the size of the SS nail thereabout 1-7/8" long, but with a head more like the casing nail on the far right.I know I'll find them again some day - it isn't like me to have thrown them out
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
got it... thanks....
fully comprehend what yur saying....
I've use the ones ya showed ... just not the ones we're referring to...
for years used 5 and 7d hot dip on shingles...
now I use 1-3/4" SSRS (blind) or 2 thu 2-1/2" SSRS for face nailed , all of them shot with a coil siding nailer....
als use an anodized for face nailing for the blend when the shingles get some kind of clear coat......
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
My roof supplier told me not to use anything but hot dipped galv nails on the cedar roof.
No copper annd he did not mention stanless.
Stainless give you any problems?
only in your walletMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
staples hold better!
For roofs, I have always sued hot dipped galvies and no trouble.On clap siding, the nail is exposed so could see more water, and fewer fasteners there so the added cost for SS is not too painfull
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Re. galv's on roofs and ss on cedar siding. Makes sense.
I am not stocking the ss nails since I see a cedar siding repair once a year and have not installed it in 25 years. Dont see much anymore round here. Fair number of roofs to repair and replace round here though.
sounds good until they are rusted out after 10-12 years
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Shoulda done board and batten, then it would be authentic rustic. :)
I have nailed 1/2 X 6 cedar bevel siding with a Hitachi coil siding nailer and have had few problems. I used the hot dipped siding nails made for Hardi. It can be set so the nail is just a speck proud, and then it takes just a minute to set them with your hammer. The only objection some might have is that the heads are a bit bigger than what we would use if we were hand nailing--which would be Maze brand siding nails. If you are painting this, then definitely it would be OK.
going back to original post, handnail cedar claps!
you don't have to worry about nails sunk too deap, left proud etc.
Cedar claps are too expensive to not give it custom nailing.
Finish nails are not made for cedar claps..
Thanks for all the input. I am going to hand nail. Nice to do now & again anyway, keep in practice......