Roofing nails are an essential component of any roofing system. The properties of the roofing nails will determine the roof resistance to both wind and water. Many peoples believe that all roofing nails are the same but the different types of roofing nails have different properties that make them better for specific situations.
Using the wrong type of roofing nail can result in the roof not being able to hold the shingles and water finding it’s way into the roof structure. The length of the roofing nails is a crucial element to the roofing materials. The length of the roofing nails will determine how deep they will go into the roof deck.
How to Choose and Use Roofing Nails
For underlayment and thin caps, the shorter roofing nails is used, which are under an inch and a half in length. For architectural shingles and cedar shakes, the longer roofing nails will penetrate the wood more deep. This is because the wind will often peel the shingle over the head of the roofing nail, and the shank of the roofing nail needs to have a good grip on the wooden roof deck.
The shank of the roofing nail is another critical element when choosing roofing nails. If the shank is smooth, the roofing nails will be easy to drive into the roof and easy to remove. These type of roofing nails are used for temporary holds on the roof.
However, smooth shank roofing nails will have less of a grip on the wood fibers of the roof. Therefore, smooth shank roofing nails are more likely to work themselfs out of the roof during the storms of the year. Ring shank roofing nails has ridges on the shank that allow the roofing nail to lock into the roof.
Screw shank roofing nails will also twist into the wood of the roof, and they are best for roofs with dense engineered wood or areas that are prone to hurricanes. The coating of the roofing nails will prevent the nails from corroding. Roofing nails that are hot-dipped with zinc will resist the rain and humidity of the roof for many years.
However, if the roof has cedar shakes or is in a coastal area, the tannins in the cedar and the salt in the air will corrode the lesser metals. For these situations, you should use stainless steel roofing nails. Aluminum roofing nails are best for lightweight flashing on the roof.
However, dont use aluminum roofing nails in conjunction with copper, as this will cause galvanic corrosion of the aluminum roof nails. Using the wrong roofing nails will lead to rust stains on the shingles on the roof and may also void the roof warranties or cause the inspections to fail the roof. The type of roofing material will dictate the type of roofing nails that are used on the roof.
For three-tab asphalt shingles, the roofing nails are lighter as they are used on roofs with low wind areas where four roofing nails is placed on each shingle. For architectural shingles, the roofing nails are much heavier and there are more roofing nails required per hundred square feet in areas where the wind is more prevalent. For cedar shakes, the roofing nails have to be stainless steel ring shanks as the zinc will corrode the cedar shakes.
For roofs with OSB decking, ring shank and screw shank roofing nails are needed as the OSB decking has less natural grip of the wood. For felt underlayings, cap nails with plastic washers is used to keep the wind from tearing the felt. The nailing pattern and depth of the roofing nails is another crucial element to the installation of the shingles.
The roofing nails must be driven into the roof deck such that the roofing nails are flush with the shingle surface. Driving the roofing nails too deeply into the roof deck will weaken the shingle and cause the shingle to tear during periods of high winds. Additionally, the penetration of the roofing nails must match the thickness of the roof deck.
In areas where the wind is more prevalent, more roofing nails must be placed per hundred square feet of the roof. Building codes, such as the IRC, require specific types of roofing nails, such as ring shank roofing nails, in certain zones with specific wind requirements. Pneumatic coil nailers are used to install the roofing nails quickly into the roof structure.
However, the roofing nails must match the collation angle of the pneumatic nail gun. Using roofing nails that do not match the collation angle of the pneumatic nail gun will cause the pneumatic nail gun to jam while installing the shingles. The PSI of the pneumatic nail gun should be set at around ninety, and the settings of the pneumatic nail gun should be adjusted to ensure that the roofing nails are flush with the shingles.
The use of staples is faster than roofing nails. However, the withdrawal strength of the staples is less than the roofing nails; therefore, most building codes will not allow for the installation of roofing staples. When reroofing a roof, one of the most common mistakes that people will commit is using the wrong length of roofing nails.
When installing shingles on an existing roof, there is additional thickness of the old roofing materials. The length of the roofing nails must account for this thickness. Additionally, people will use smooth shank roofing nails even in areas exposed to high winds, which can cause the roof to fail.
Roofing nails that are of the correct length and of the correct type will allow a roof to remain attached to the structure and help the roof to last for many years.
