What Size Roofing Nail
Existing roof is a 3 tab shingle with 1/2 plywood.The nails used are 1/2-3/4. Most of the nails do not come through the plywood. The roof/structure is completely open and can be seen from underneath. It is outside in a yard. Seems 1 1/4 nails are recommended. Roofs been on quite awhile and the nails held ok. Will the 1 1/4 nails rust since they will be below the plywood? Or should the shorter nails be used again? Thanks for any help.
they wont rust youll just see them popping thru everywhere. The short nails will work if you are worried about appearence, we have to use them quite often on exposed overhangs and the HO doesnt want to see all the penetrations with no problems
The specification for this states that on plywood or OSB roof decks, the nail shall penetrate past the point with the shank exposed. On lumber type decking, then a minimum of 3/4 penetration and a irregular nail shank.
This 3/4 spec is most used round here for exposed decorative tongue and groove decking.
1/2 is too small. Dont know that Ive ever seen a half inch roofing nail. Use the 3/4 and just 6 nail the shingles.
1/2 is too small. Dont know that Ive ever seen a half inch roofing nail. Use the 3/4 and just 6 nail the shingles.
yeah, I just assumed he was guessing and it actually was a 3/4 or 7/8 nail. We normally use the 7/8 for that type of situation, cant remember ever seeing 1/2 though they do all look short as hell
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Proper Nail Application For Asphalt Shingles
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Required by the International Building Code, proper nailing is essential to the optimum performance of roofing shingles. Accurate nailing requires the use of approved nails, nail-driving methods and placement .
Atlas has installation guidelines in place to ensure proper, uniform installation of Atlas shingles on every roof, whether that roof is new or recovered. Nails should have a minimum, nominal shank diameter of 11- or 12-gauge, and a minimum head diameter of three-eighths of an inch. The length of each nail must be a minimum of 1¼ inches long, and for roof-overs, Atlas recommends a nail length of at least 2 inches.
Nails of the proper length should penetrate three-fourths of an inch into the roof deck. However, where the roof deck is less than three-fourths of an inch thick, the nail should be long enough to penetrate fully and extend at least one-eighth of an inch through the roof deck.
Each shingle model has specific requirements for nails printed on each shingle wrapper. These guidelines must be followed to comply with building codes and ensure intended performance levels
All nails need to be driven either by hand or with a properly adjusted pneumatic nailer. Improper adjustment of a pneumatic nailer can result in overdriven or underdriven nails, which can cause nail corrosion, sealing failures, raised tabs, buckling and blow offs.
For more information about proper nail placement, visit atlasroofing.com/roof-shingles.
Offsets Between Shingle Courses Requirements For Asphalt Shingle Roofs
Successive courses are typically offset 6 inches on a 36-inch shingle in a stepped fashion, making cutouts align every other course and butt joints align every seventh course .
For a more random pattern where cutouts align only every eighth course, offset shingles only five inches.
Both of these patterns effectively resist leakage, but the 5-inch offset may provide longer wear since water will not be channeled down the cutouts thereby eroding the stone topping.
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How To Fix Nail Pops In A Roof
Nails can pop above the roof surface for a number of reasons. Perhaps they were underdriven in the first place. Nails that didnt fully penetrate the sheathing may work their way up over time. Or, if a roofs decking has warped or bent, it can pull nails out of place. Whatever the cause, its important to fix any nail pops in a roof to prevent damage.
Fixing the nails is simply a matter of removing them, removing the shingle and installing a new shingle. Be sure you to use the correct nail length and place it properly.
Do not simply hammer the nail down, renail it in the same spot, or use the same shingle. All of these methods could allow water through the roof. For example, if you remove the nail and drive it back into the same spot, your aim wont be perfectly accurate. There will be a tiny gap on one side of the nail or the other. Even if it is imperceptible to you, water will find it.
If you use the same shingle and add the nail back in a different spot, youre leaving behind a hole where the nail once was. Some suggest you fill this hole with roofing cement, but this repair option must be done carefully to maintain the roofs water-shedding performance.
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Learn The Techniques And Workflow For Laying The Most Common Type Of Shingle The 3
Caitlin Sole is the senior home editor at BHG. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of interior design expertise. She has vast experience with digital media, including SEO, photo shoot production, video production, eCommerce content, print collaboration, and custom sales content.
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The 3-tab asphalt shingle, also called a composition shingle or fiberglass shingle, is the most common type of roofing shingle. Other composition shingles, such as architectural and random cutouts, are installed using most of the same techniques. Check with your roofing dealer to learn about any installation differences.
Three-tab shingles are usually 36 inches long each tab is 12 inches. They are designed to be installed with a 5-inch reveal. Some roofers install shingles so the cutout lines describe a slight angle as you look from the bottom to the top of the roof. However, most people prefer the cutout lines to be aligned so they make straight vertical lines.
This step-by-step tutorial shows how to install 3-tab roof shingles using the racking method. A pneumatic nail gun makes quick work of fastening shingles. You can install shingles by hand using a roofing hatchet, but the work will go more slowly.
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Most Common Roofing Nail Materials
The metal a nail is made from can make all the difference not only in how well it holds down a shingle, but also how long it lasts over time. The most common types of roofing nails are made from aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized steel, and copper. We do not recommend all of these types, but that doesnt stop some contractors from using them.
High Wind Nailing Pattern For Shingles Installation
When preparing for a roofing job you need more than just a good coil roofing nailer. You also need more than a solid understanding of OSHA safety rules. Whether it be a complete re-shingle or simply a repair, youre bound to hear talk about a high-wind nailing pattern. This goes double if you live near the coast or anywhere in Florida. In hurricane-prone areas high-wind nailing patterns are mandated by local building codes.
The high wind shingle nailing pattern came about in 2003. Since then, the International Building Code required roofers to fasten shingles using six nails. You must also properly space nails in front of the seal line. They required these high-wind-rated products on any roofs in wind regions rated at or above 110 mph. Shingle manufacturers now produce products rated somewhere between 60 and 130 mph, using two-hour duration tests.
See our article on How to use a roofing nailer.
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Are Roofing Nails Magnetic
There are many questions on the internet about whether roofing nails are magnetic. Many people ask this question on forums and blogs because magnetic nails make roof cleanup much easier. After installing your new roof, the first thing your contractor does is clean it of any debris and granular that fall from the shingles. In cleaning time, magnetic roofing nails become critical. Using a magnetic sweeper is an easy way to facilitate cleanup when nails are magnetic.
On the contrary, roofing projects employ a variety of nails. Steel roofing nails are the only ones that are magnetic. They are coated in a variety of colors to prevent rust. Steel nails work well with magnetic sweepers. However, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper are incompatible with magnetic sweepers. You can test a nails magnetic strength by picking it up with a magnet.
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Shingle Nails: How To Increase Speed Without Losing Accuracy
Well-placed shingle nails are crucial for building top-performing roofs. When roofing nails are positioned improperly or driven incorrectly, the roofing system may become vulnerable to issues, such as punctures, buckling, sealing failures, blow-offs, and raised tabs. Ultimately, improperly installed nails result in lost time, lost labor, material waste, and .
Knowing the facts about proper shingle nail installation can help the quality of your roof installations. You can also increase the speed of your shingle installation and reduce nailing errors by using shingles with clear and wide nailing areas, such as GAF TimberlineHDZ® Shingles with LayerLock® Technology.
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How Many Pounds Of Shingles Are In A Square Of Nails
You will need approximately 2 ¼ pounds of nails to install a square of shingles in regular conditions, and about 3 ½ pounds if you are dealing with windy conditions. Because nails are purchased by the pound, so can ask your supplier for the correct number of nails for your size roof, in the length you specify.
Know Your Shingle Nails
Four nails per shingle is widely accepted as the industry standard, but warranty requirements and building codes may call for more. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association states that the best roofing nails for asphalt shingles are resistant to corrosion and made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or copper. Always keep building codes, shingle manufacturer installation instructions, and application circumstances top of mind, as these can impact the number or type of nails required for proper roof installation.
Strike nails at a 90 degree angle from the roof when hammering by hand. Always adjust nail guns appropriately to avoid improper fastener installation. Look out for underdriven, overdriven, or angled nails during installation to reduce the risk of installation issues. Refer to the GAF Pro Field Guide for additional tips.
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Home Clinic Repairing Asphalt Roofing Shingles
ASPHALT shingles, the most widely used roofing material in the United States, ordinarily last 15 to 25 years before needing replacement. Roofs with asphalt shingles should be inspected annually for wear if they are 10 or more years old. Leaks and damage to individual shingles must be repaired immediately.
The best way to inspect an asphalt roof is at close range. For safety, choose a day of fair weather, with no wind. Wait until morning dew has evaporated from both the ground and the roof, so that neither shoes nor shingles will be slippery from moisture. Wear sneakers, and have a helper brace the ladder while you climb.
Once on the roof, walk with knees bent to preserve balance and stay away from the buildings edges. A professional roofer will sometimes tie a rope around his waist and toss the free end over the roof peak to a helper on the other side. The helper then secures the rope to something solid, like a tree or porch railing.
To assess the overall condition of the shingles, notice whether areas seem dried out, cracked or worn. Shingles are coated on their top surface with fine gravel, which protects the asphalt from sunlight. If the gravel coating seems thin or is missing, this is an indication that a new roof may be needed.
If damage to a shingle is severe, or if several shingles in a group are broken, you may decide on replacement, rather than patching. Be sure beforehand that you can obtain new shingles to match the broken ones.
What Are Roof Nail Pops
Every asphalt roof is made up of individual shingles. Roofing contractors use hammers or pneumatic nailers to secure the shingle to the roof decking. Most shingles require 4-6 nails per shingle.
Photo courtesy of IKO
A skilled roofing contractor will use long ring shank nails. The rings around the nail shank allow the nail to grip the shingle and properly secure the nail in, while the large, flat nail head acts as a seal to keep water from entering.
For different reasons , moisture can seep into and around the shingle nail. Over time, this causes two issues that create nail pops.
First, the moisture can seep into the wood sheathing, causing expansion of the decking that pushes the nail upward.
Secondly, the rings around the nail shank can wear down and rust off. Without the nail shank rings, the nail becomes smooth and starts to lift upward.
As the nail gets pushed upward, it pops out and pushes against whatever is on top of it. In most cases, that is a roof shingle.
Nail pops dont just occur on the shingles. You can also find them on flashing, vents, and boots .
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How To Fix Nail Holes In Roof Shingles
Roof leaks are difficult to find because the source of the leak and where the water is dripping might be in two locations. Water flows down until it finds a weak point and breaks through the roof, since roofs are slanted at an angle. The cause of the problem may be found in old roofing nails. However, if a nail is not driven insufficiently or sideways, the nail’s head will work its way back up through the shingle. When it rains, water follows the head down your roof and into your house as it comes down. This is true for roofing nails as well as decking nails. If the decking nail did not strike wood when the framing was completed, the sun has a way of drawing it through the shingle. This is not uncommon if a nail hole in shingles or flashing widens over time, allowing water to seep through. It’s pretty simple to repair nail holes once you’ve discovered the source of the leak. So, How to fix nail holes in roof shingles?
To fix nail holes, you need to follow a few steps. Here are they:
How Many Nails Per Shingle Do You Need
A minimum of 4 nails per shingle is required for a standard asphalt roof shingle. A standard asphalt shingle is 36 long, and four nails spaced evenly along that shingle are adequate to secure the standard shingle size.
Shingles that are longer or shorter may require different amounts of nails. Manufacturers of those shingles will include specifications for how many fasteners are required for their shingles. Applying more nails per shingle is acceptable, within reason. However, 4 fasteners per shingle are industry standard.
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Lay The Starter Strip
A starter strip is an extra layer of shingles at the edge of the roof. Purchase this in the same color as what youâre choosing for your main field shingles. You can also buy 3-tab shingles and use several of them to create the strip.
Take the starter strip and turn it upside down so that the shingles are facing up or what you would see as the wrong direction. Place this over the underlayment. When you start installing the rest of the shingles, this strip will provide a perfect double layer of protection on the edge.
Once the starter strip is installed, it should hang roughly 1/4 inch past the drip edge. Using your chalk line, mark the location in a straight line across the underlayment where you want the top of the starter strip to sit to achieve the correct overhang. Lay the strip and nail it down. Your nails should go into the tar strip. Add the second layer of shingles on top.
What About The Waste Factor Should I Order Extra Roofing Materials
You want to order extra material to account for waste. Waste factors vary.
10%-15% is a good rule of thumb, but your results may be different. More complicated roofs will have a higher waste factor because there are usually more cut shingles around corners, walls, and edges.
It is okay to have a few shingles left over. They can be saved in case there is roof damage later or if repairs need to be done in the future.
So for the 24 square roof example, you would want to add 2.4 squares which equal about 7 or 8 more bundles.
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When Would Someone Nail Over Their Current Asphalt Roof
To nail-over your current asphalt roof, the situation has to be right. With that in mind, most roofs are not going to be a good candidate for a nail-over.
To nail-over, an asphalt roof has to be near the end of its lifespan, and still lying down pretty flat . The roof also must have only a few penetrations, a small amount of flashing, and no walls that have to butt up against your shingles.
Ultimately, itll be up to what your contractor finds during your roof inspection that determines if a nail-over is an option for you.
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How To Seal Exposed Nails
Exposed nails are those with visible nail heads. Sometimes homeowners put in new nails when trying to attach something on the roof. However, this is a detriment to the roofs performance.
Ideally, your roof will not have any exposed nails, with the exception of the last cap shingle Otherwise, all new nails should be inserted so that they are covered by the shingle above them.
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