How important is using stainless steel pins and nails when installing windows with white oak casings and trim? Is there a suitable second choice plating or coating for non-stainless fasteners? The exterior surfaces are cladding, only the interior are a concern.
Thanks,
Seth
Replies
What is the reason for using stainless fasteners? Curious.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Don,Oak is acidic and plain steel fasteners can result in rust stains. I'm just not sure how much of a problem it really is.Seth
Interior trim, clear finished = no problem. Just look at the the old vics with oak trim, they dont show any staining 100+ years latter.
Just wondering. I've never seen rust stains in well installed and maintained window trim and/or jamb extensions outside of a bathroom.
Having said that, we're not in a humid state so window condensation isn't a major issue normally.
In high humidity areas I wouldn't hesitate to use stainless fasteners if you are at all concerned about it.
Many of the electro-galvanized finish nails have a coating that's super thin and rust will quickly form on the head, so they aren't much better in the long term than bare steel.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
In high humidity areas I wouldn't hesitate to use stainless fasteners if you are at all concerned about it.
Tidewater Va is where my mother winters. I trimmed a porch with white oak, standard trim head screws. Extremely humid, no problem.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
84Wing,
The differance in cost between the two better not determine profit or loss on a job.. I choose to use stainless steel and with careful shopping I was able to buy stainless steel for only about 10% more than what I could buy ordinary steel.
When was the last time you went shopping for anything stainless? I find it typically 3-4 times as much.
reinvent,
Keep shopping. I wound up buying mine from a supplier who had access to surplus stainless steel fastners.. I just checked prices again and while up they pretty closely reflect the rise in fastener costs in general.. Volume makes a big differance..
If I buy 1/2x 6 stainless steel lag bolts at the local hardware store they are $3.90 each. If I buy a box they are $2.85 each and if I buy ten boxes from the same hardware store the cost goes down to $2.34
My supplier sells me a thousand for $1.43 each..
I dont need a thousand of anything except dollars.
reivent,
Well I did,, as a matter of fact I had 5000 1/2 x12 inch stainless steel lag screws in this place so far..
But I did find that getting stainless steel nails for my trim gun and framing nailer to be more expensive.. (about 30%) The cheapest place I found for those was tool crib of the north (online) even so I spent $114.00 for a box of 3 1/2 inch .131 stainless steel ring shanks when I bought three boxes at a time.. they had a free shipping offer on at the time so I'm certain they choked a bit on that frieght bill. In fact so far I've bought all but one box of stainless steel nails from them. That one box I bought locally was due to my poor planning and I really swallowed hard on that one! My choice was to wait a couple of weeks for tool crib to ship to me or swallow the price differance..
30% more equals 30% waste if we are talking about fasteners for interior trim.
jesse,
Go into any bathroom and tell me that those fasteners aren't rusting.. Same with any kitchen.
Then too it depends on life style.. I live on a lake. Humidity around here can get to 101% ;-) thick enough to know that you're breathing partially underwater.. I hate air conditioning.. So does most of my family so we have whatever humidity is outside in my home nearly all the time..
All my oak and black walnut is fastened with stainless steel for those reasons..
If you happen to be in a dry area where A/C is running all summer long you can use whatever nail works. Live on the coast or near water and the matter changes.. live in extreme humidity and the same rules apply. ..
As for nails not rusting in older homes, it depends again.. start to pull enough houses apart and you'll see a large variation..
Fasteners amount to a tiny percentage of a homes contruction.. If I'd purchased steel fasteners with the same diligence I looked for stainless steel I suspect the differance would be near to the 30% you're speaking about but 30% of a hundred dollars isn't the end of the word and shouldn't make the differance between profit and loss.. having nice shiney nails in place for decades after you leave rather than slowly rusting and rotting fasteners causing your work to be torn out and discarded quickly is sufficent incentive for me to use stainless steel whenever working with white oak and black walnut..