55
Once we bought an old pallet factory, so I really got to "see how the sausage is made".
Pallets are made in extremely, extremely high production because the typical corporate customer orders thousands and pays about $6 each for them. There are also an infinite number of pallet sizes and styles, though most fit a 40x48 footprint. These two requirements ...
answered Oct 2 '18 at 21:36
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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41
I use a device called a nail jack. It will work with or without a nail head. It has a beak that you center on the nail then a slide that you smack down on and it bites the nail. After it has a grip 1 sole has a lever that you rock back on and it pulls the nail out. I have used on all sizes of nails in both hard wood and soft wood. Aged oak with nails is the ...
31
The nail heads aren't big enough for the holes. At that time carpenters didn't enjoy the vast array of fasteners and installation tools that we do today, so they may have used what was available at the moment. It did the job, right?
~ or ~
The carpenter had intended to replace them with lag screws and forgot.
~ or ~
There's something sensitive to ...
23
Screws:
It doesn't sound like you're reattaching the entire floor; this is more like strategic intervals to solidify the fastening. Your nail/screw rate is not as important as if you were attaching a new subfloor from scratch.
Glue and screw is popular for more reasons than just rhyming
You're going through this effort to make it right. So do it right.
20
I think what you need is a Palm Nailer. You can get these in air or electric powered versions. They are compact and are handy to drive nails in tight spaces.
16
Yes it is typical, but a conscientious contractor will pick them up with a magnet or not let them drop to begin with. Sadly, from my experience, not many workers do. Cost of the nails versus the time needed to pick them up, it is cheaper to leave them.
I would call and let the contractor know you are not content with the nails everywhere, see if any action ...
16
I'd take a different approach. I'd simply drive them in with a nail set so they effectively disappear. In cases where you need to make cuts, shift things to avoid the nail locations.
12
There are a bunch of different ways that nails wind up on the ground, and none of them are really avoidable. They fall out of nail pouches, they'll kick out and go flying if you hit them wrong with a hammer or double fire with a nailer, crowbars send them flying, etc., etc., etc. On top of this, individual nails are really hard to find in the grass, even ...
12
Even on a good day, brad nails can curl on you. Through your fingers, if you aren't careful.
However, if you look closely at the pointy end of a strip of nails, you'll see that they're cut at an angle on only two sides. (The other two sides are the ones adjacent to their neighbors in the strip.) Anyway, the nail is predisposed to curl in the direction of ...
11
If you have acess to Dremel or other rotary tool you can use a cutoff /abrasive wheel attachment to cut them off. They may have been inserted by a power tool that fires them in with a gunpowder charge. If this is the case prying them out will be difficult if not impossible. You could try a Sawzall but these type of fasteners are very hard and you will go ...
11
I saw one of these on demo at Home Depot for $49 CDN:
It's basically a vibrator that slowly drives the nail into the wood. I tried it on a big galvanized spike, and it went in effortlessly. However, you'll be faster using a decent claw hammer and a full swing. This seems to fit the bill perfectly for working in places where you can't get the backswing.
...
11
Nails are used in almost all framing and structural applications. Most code books are designed with nails in mind and will have specific minimum nailing requirements and patterns for different applications.
Structural screws are coming more and more on the market every day, but because most code books don't include them you will need an engineer's approval ...
10
Don't wait for the carpet installers. Find your worst squeaks, cut through the carpet and padding, and put the screws in there right now. Then you can hit any missed spots and otherwise stay out of the installers way tomorrow.
10
Another method is to get pliers and a block of wood about the height of the extended nail ( protruding out the wood). Grab the nail out the side of the pliers and insert the block of wood between the joist and the head of the pliers. then use the leverage to pull the nail out, this is also great because it will not damage your wood.
9
That problem used to plague me as well until I invested in a palm nailer:
There are also electric, cordless versions if you don't have an air compressor.
9
If you're covering them over, then a wack with a hammer so they go all the way into the joists should be fine. That's routine during a demolition. If you absolutely need to remove the nail, then get a large channel lock plier, grip the nail tight, and roll the pliers on their head to pull the nail. The long handle gives you lots of leverage to hold the nail ...
9
We usually use one of these standard nail pullers. Grab the nail shank and roll the plier to pull the nail out of the board. It has the best leverage out of all the recommendations here.
Available from several manufacturers, end nippers such as Diamond horse shoeing nippers have longer handles for better leverage and the wide head doesn't dent the wood as ...
9
Leave a hardhat or bump helmet (lighter version of a hardhat) by the attic hatch. Put it on when you enter; take it off when you leave.
9
I know this may not apply to every situation, but as an electrician I use a pair of side cutters and leverage it out of a hole. Lineman's pliers work too if there is enough space and you can get enough of a grip on it.
9
You might be able to use a pneumatic denailer.
It punches the nails through the wood to drive them out, and seems to work from either end of the nail, so would not require the nail to have a head.
It is probably an expensive investment for a one-time task, but you may be able to rent one from your local home-improvement store.
Here is a video of the ...
8
Screws. Nails will pull out over time.
8
Nah - most of the strength is in shear, and joist hanger nails are nice and fat so they have good shear strength.
also, yanking them is likely to be harder than you think.
The actual nailing schedule seems to be here:
http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/H.asp
That suggests that 10d are one size larger than you should use in a model H1Z hanger (...
8
It's fairly typical. Nails get dropped, nails are struck poorly and go flying.
Nails are not hugely expensive (modern era - supposedly in the era that they were hand-made one at a time, folks would burn down old houses for the nails, though I am dubious that that is an accurate claim.)
Carpenters are fairly expensive and not fond of playing janitor. If the ...
8
Because it is easy to remove the nails if required to move the post.
The nails mostly hold the post in position until the overall weight of the building bears down a lot of pressure on the post. At that point it is mostly friction between the upper post plate and the beam that holds the post in position.
8
This style of nail puller does a good job of pulling out nails that are flush or deeper.
It won't leave the original surface completely untouched, as it needs a tiny bit of clearance to get a grip on the nail.
7
Palm nailers are fantastic, I have one and use it a lot. But for very small nails in very tight places, I like to replace the nail with a small square drive finish screw and install it with a long bit extension on my screw gun. Quick and easy.
7
Looks to me like a drywall screw or nail has "bubbled out". It happens sometimes due to wall movement, especially with weather swings (like a real wet winter or a long drought). It also happens when moisture gets to a nail or screw and causes it to corrode. Hopefully your kinda new roof is not leaking. I don't see any signs of plaster discoloration ...
7
Check the pressure
Check the recommended pressure range listed on the gun, and make sure the compressor is putting out a pressure within that range. I've seen similar symptoms when the pressure was too low. Presumably the hammer didn't have enough energy to move the nail, so it skipped over it instead.
Properly load the nails
If the nails are not properly ...
7
In general, the codes require fasteners to be of hot-dipped, zinc-coated galvanized steel in accordance with ASTM A153, type 304 or 316 stainless steel, silicon bronze or copper. [source]
FWIW, everything you ever wanted to know about pressure treated wood here.
6
Nails are generally put in at 90 degrees to the wood (i.e. straight in), unless you are "toe-nailing". (see picture)
It all really depends on the application. As opposed to just nailing straight in, like if you were nailing together a built-up beam (face nailing) - Toe nailing the wood is usually not bearing much or any weight on the nails, they are holding ...
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