Based on our area getting up to 90 mph winds from Gustav, should I require 6 nailing the shingles?
And what is the best method hand nailing or a roof nail air gun ? Does it make a difference?
And anything else to watch for when the crew is rushing to cover the roof deck, should I make sure they pull all old nails or pound them flat? What about loose ply board joints?
I'd appreciate your advice on this.

kourso wrote:

Based on our area getting up to 90 mph winds from Gustav, should I require 6 nailing the shingles? And what is the best method hand nailing or a roof nail air gun ? Does it make a difference? And anything else to watch for when the crew is rushing to cover the roof deck, should I make sure they pull all old nails or pound them flat? What about loose ply board joints? I'd appreciate your advice on this.

6 nails per shingle wouldn't hurt.
If I was a home owner I wouldn't mind the roofing crew to hand nail but there are very few that hand nail in my area. If they are gun nailing and going too fast they may nail too high which could void the shingle manufacturers warranty. With gun nailing it's also possible to nail too deep into the shingle which could also void warranty.
Make sure they pull all the fasteners used to hold the shingles into place and if the decking is loose they need to install additional fasteners into it.

dougger222
I will have to require the 6 nails and I have heard one roofer crew man tell me they put either 4,5 or 6 into each shingle. So they just ripped and ran putting them on a house down the street from me.
They reroofed a 30 sq. house in 6 hr., I think it was a little too fast. I will have to tell the roof salesman that I will be on site and I will be checking everything and that I don't want the nail gun to cut into the shingle or nailed too high as well. Oh and all old nails pulled out. Thanks for your help.

Modern shingles are designed to hold with 4 nails, but their technical specs give a higher minimum wind damage speed with 6 nails. If you are in an area of high winds, go for 6 nails.

The thing that gives pneumatic nailing a bad rep is the fact that a lot of guys out there are not using and maintaining their guns properly. A good roofer will maintain his nailer like a soldier maintains his rifle.

A well maintained, lubricated, and adjusted air nailer with a regulated supply of clean, dry, oiled air will place tens of thousands of nails more accurately and consistently than hand nailing.

The enemies of an air nailer are water and lack of lubrication.

Water swells the O-rings and gums the oil in a nailer and makes the level of power delivered by the piston inconsistent. You've got to drain the water from your compressor frequently AND use a centrifugal dryer to get the water out of the compressed air.

The best way to lubricate an air nailer is to use a micro mist oiling system. The second best is to manually oil your gun in the morning and after lunch. But a lot of guys won't even manually oil them until they start having problems. At that time they will squirt in a few ounces of oil to make up for lost time. This doesn't work and it turns into a nasty mess that looks like day old mayonnaise.

The results are a weak gun that leaves most nails high. So they crank up the regulated pressure to overcome this. So some nails cut the shingle and some nails end up high. And sometimes it will double shoot and jam the head of the first nail completely through the shingle. Anything can happen with a gummed up gun.

A properly operating gun will leave nails flush whether they are driven into styrofoam or two layers of 24 gauge metal.

However, one must overcome the urge to shoot nails like a machine gun. The nails will end up exactly where you put the gun. Put it below the nail line, and that's where the nail ends up. One advantage that hand nailing has is that you don't run screaming across a roof going RAT TAT TAT TAT... carelessly placing nails.

Keep in mind that a bad roofer can still screw up hand nailing.

Hi,

Pulling every nail is personal prefrence.

Anyone out there that can tell me why every nail should be pulled,I would like to see the testing that says proves this.

We pull nails. Not because all nails should be pulled.

I can tell you for sure that on a 1x6 yellow pine tongue and groove, that a lot of nails will be nailed down.

Pulling nails is a personal preference. It is easier with guys that do not think, to get a flat surface. Other then that there is no reason to pull the nails.

I appreciate al of your opinions on the reroofing.
I have never doen a reroof before and I am the type that like to know as much as possible to make sure that it is done right. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving

Bodybagger wrote:

However, one must overcome the urge to shoot nails like a machine gun.

I think that's the main thing that gives nail guns a bad name. I just finished my roof and used a nail gun for the first time. Last time I did the house I hand nailed but my elbow is sore so I decided to give the gun a try. I have a senco with sequential trigger and it has to be placed on the shingle before it will fire, if it was bump fire I doubt I could always shoot exactly where I want the nails.
I guess the nail gun sped up the nailing a bit but I'd probably hand nail it if I was younger, I like the feel of a well struck nail and I like the looks of the single nails better, they seem to have more galvanizing than the coil nails. It's also nice to be free of the airhose and gun when moving around the roof....DaveB

Quote:

A properly operating gun will leave nails flush whether they are driven into styrofoam or two layers of 24 gauge metal. ---- A well maintained, lubricated, and adjusted air nailer with a regulated supply of clean, dry, oiled air will place tens of thousands of nails more accurately and consistently than hand nailing.

I have to know what gun you speak of because I need one of those.

RooferR wrote:

Quote: A properly operating gun will leave nails flush whether they are driven into styrofoam or two layers of 24 gauge metal. ---- A well maintained, lubricated, and adjusted air nailer with a regulated supply of clean, dry, oiled air will place tens of thousands of nails more accurately and consistently than hand nailing. I have to know what gun you speak of because I need one of those.

The Senco's with the straight/flush drive.
The straight/flush drive mechanism works very well, unfortunately the rest of the gun is utter crap...
_________________
I don't need no freakin' signature, I Am Roofer.

We use the Bostich RN46 fed at 90psi with micro mist oiling system and 40 micron in line filter at each gun. Centrifugal dryer after 20 feet of hose from compressor. Have 8 RN46's and they get about 100,000 nails before being rebuilt.

RN45 will not set depth of drive.