Why We Build Houses with Nails, Not Screws
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Here's a discussion on using the right nail for the right application. Also, learn how to hammer
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Whoever built my house used nails, but still managed to screw it up
Nailed it!
The best comment! 😂😂😂
For the longest time, I thought about half of the nails I bought were defective, with the point and/or the head on the wrong end. It took me forever to realize they were for the other side of the house.
Hahaha! 😂
Not surprised. Retired tool and fastener salesman. Probably 75% to 80% of the contractors I sold to were hacks. The old 80/20 rule strikes again. The rest were golden. Find your local suppliers. Make friends with them. DO NOT ASK THIS QUESTION WITH OTHER CUSTOMERS AROUND. When they get to know you a bit, and you're alone, ask who the best contractors are. We know.
That ending statement resonated with me. " The more skilled we are the more useful we are. The more useful we are the more of a benefit we are to the people around us" I such a good sentiment to live by.
That's the old school way of thinking and acting, sadly we are losing a lot of people of this mindset. Nowadays money and phones are people's new God's.
It's very well said and very true. I grew up without any ready source to learn handiness but started making an effort to pick up skills as an adult. I'm now at a point where I can regularly do small things for friends and family to make their lives easier, and it's such a fulfilling experience.
Licence to be exploited. Human value goes deeper than utility.
@@DieselDaddy82 i have experienced this the other way round a few times, though: one job I was the "old guy" who knew sash windows who would be "useful" to deal with 88 such windows in a historic building (because I've made and installed them over many decades). The young guy running the crew had never dealt with them, never made, installed or repaired one in his life. He had me do a teaching session to gen up the rest of the crew at the beginning of the job then bulleted me at the end of the first week (I am a sub-contractor, it sometimes goes with the job). The firm transferred me to another job for a couple of months, then abruptly pulled me off that job to go back onto the sash window project to sort out the mess that the young buck left in charge had made of it. So I got the last laugh - and I got paid for it too. People often feel threatened by others with more knowledge or ability, it's that simple
Yeah, but you can become very skilled at creating something that is a pain the arse to repair. Nails are cheap, easy to install, and an absolute nightmare for the next person.
Don't know how i got here, but i can listen to this man talk about anything for hours
I'm an engineer. The first thing one of the better professors told the class, "Your job is to determine what's good enough." Then he showed us the money/quality/speed triangle.
Like the Sales triangle where you can have any 2 of the 3 but never all 3?
as a business, yes. time is money. if you're building something yourself, screws will outperform nails most every time. none of us have the time to determine if something is just good enough so overbuilding is better. my roof makes a really loud popping noise in the sun in my office in the mornings due to thermal expansion, so good enough isn't really just good enough. screws aren't really that much more expensive than nails, but you won't ever find a roofing company out there screwing a deck on your home these days.
@@LygerTheCLawcommercial builder myself…ticks me off the quality of our home (stuck built). Second level wood decking nailed vs. screwed….creeks when we walk on it. New flooring will be a challenge if anything else than carpet.
Capitalism = most profit for the least effort.
One of the best craftsmen I know used these quotes he learned from his dad, "Good enough is good enough,'' and "it's a rattling good fit."
In the 70s I worked for a museum. I remember when the exhibit/design shop bought their first nail gun. None of the old woodchucks would use it - their hammers were relatively light and nearby, and they could accurately drive a nail with just a few strokes. They were proud of their skill. It took a new, young, carpenter to pick it up - and it suddenly became clear how much quicker exhibits could be constructed. Then there was the master painter. He could coat the woodwork of a complex exhibit quickly, and with accuracy I could not imagine (never any paint on the glass), and never needed a drop cloth. It is a joy to watch someone who works with pride, skill, and experience.
@RobertJBallantyne Having worked painting houses in the past, that is a skill for which I have the utmost respect! I learned a lot from the father & son that I worked with in the early 2000's. They were quite proficient and showed me how to pick up my pace while maintaining accuracy. Man I had no idea how slow I was before, and I certainly was no 'lightning bolt'! My dad had taught me a lot growing up in the 80's, but we had plenty of time. It wasn't a painting business.
As you say, "It is a joy to watch someone who works with pride, skill, and experience."
Yea & Amen!!!
Thomas Kuhn and scientific revolutions...paradigms often change not because of logic or empiricism but because the old theory protectors die. Their students are open to the new.
Nail guns split the wood , the nail is driven too fast . And also the nail shoots so fast that the glue coating is ineffective.
Museum work is low key some of the coolest stuff out there. Exhibits work is conceptually wild stuff (the artistry of displaying the items while keeping priceless and irregularly shaped items totally safe), but I'm really into the benches. An attractive bench that'll be used unpredictably by thousands of people every year and it remains rock solid? Incredible.
@@raylear-z7b - yes.. and no. With a nail gun, the nail is driven into the wood in one movement. With a hammer, there are usually at least three strikes, so you have at least two points where friction is broken. As far as I am aware, the glue coating is for after the nail is 'set' into the wood, so speed of insertion doesn't make a difference. For that matter, I've only seen glue coating for brad nails, and that's a totally different animal to framing guns.
As for wood splitting? Sorry, that's not really a function of the speed. That's a function of the size of the inserted object.
I think the main point is, that nails bent, while screws break. So if the structure is overloaded, it will pull apart slowly if there are nails used, but will break apart catastrophically in an instant if screws are used.
Apart from that: In Germany, many wooden buildings still used wooden tenons instead of nails or screws. The idea is that they can move the best with the motion the wood goes through in different climates :)
You could never understand where I descend from but wooden pegs are the truth. Nails are proper. Screws are for engineering. Screws shear. Nails will build you a house. Wooden pegs will build you a stone castle.
@NatureWalden yeah as I said we use basically 100% wooden pegs in Germany in our wooden houses. But they are hard to compare to US buildings, which are more like cheap sheds from the building quality in German terms - no offense. It's just that US companies lowered the standards of homes so much over time, that even simple hay barns in Germany are better build than the average homes in the US 🥲
@@RubenKelevra You're not offending anyone if what you say is accurate..! 😉
@@RubenKelevra yeah in the US (Australia too) they just decided to start stapling up wood frames to get them built as fast as possible
It's the same in wooden boats, everything needs some tolerance to move/flex/shrink/expand. It's kinda unintuitive but a riveted copper rod will hold on for longer than a stainless steel bolt despite its relative weakness simply because of its flexibility and being less prone to stress fractures.
Three decades of fabrication and welding makes me a "hack" when it comes to my home renovations, but they are completely overbuilt. My place was assaulted by people who didn't care about the final product, but I plan to be here until they take me out in a bag, so I'm not afraid to go above and beyond. I use construction screws like they are going out of style, pre drill almost everything so it doesn't split, and it makes me smile when I'm done. Great video!
Try self drilling screws. Gets rid of the extra step of drilling to avoid splits.
Yep, I built an extension, and I'm not sure if there are any nails in it. It's stood up to storms for five years, and is solid as. Wouldn't trust anyone who supplies their own materials...
I built my yard fences with screws, pickets sandwiched between rails (2x4 on one side and 1x4 on the other), floating/sliding rail/post connections, and extra deep posts with lots of concrete. Four hurricanes later and everyone in my neighborhood except me has had major fence damage, most of them at least twice. I had one post out of 30 crack but not fall over under 130 mph winds. My fence will be cheaper in the long run.
@ same here in Hawaii. As the nailed roofs fly away in the wind, all my screwed structures barely yawn.
What do I use to tighten loose connections when the nails slip?
Screws, for same reason I have screws used for everything now, whether by myself, or subs working on my house.
Thank you for this. I’m 68 years old and would not call myself a carpenter but have built things all my life in my spare time. This is the first time I’ve ever heard a clear explanation of what nail to use when. It’s never too late to learn!
I freaking adore the approach to sharing your opinion on these things. Wish more people adopted this approach in their lives. You express that you have multiple answers but emphasize that there may be more and you invite the viewer to participate and share their perspective. Wish life was like this. Well done!
I am a retired carpenter of the trade with 50+ years of experience and knew all about nails but really enjoy listening to you and the new apprentice carpenters can learn so much from you. You are so good at explaining our trade. When I was an apprentice we used to have competition during our coffee breaks to see who could drive in five 16 penny nails the fastest. I now own many air nailers but have advanced to Milwaukee cordless nail guns. Not sure how it works but it is a fantastic tool and yes we shoot in 4 times more nails than we would have by hand. Thank You Sir.
As a self proclaimed fix anything guy I really like your videos. I am retiring soon (3 years@70 yo) and will finally have the time to do what I want with my time rather than what work dictates. Nothing is more satisfying to me than attention to detail and doing every job the best it can be done. I have learned a great deal about carpentry in all areas from you. Once I am free from my 40 hour plus per week schedule
I intend to use all my TH-cam knowledge to remodel my little house from top to bottom. Thanks for all the good videos.
Great video and presentation! Another Professional Engineer here. Another benefit from using nails in wood frame structures is that the joints are considered as, and generally behave as, pinned joints. The benefit comes into play with house movement, for example, with foundation settlement and with earthquakes/seismic events. Pinned joints allow the house to more often (emphasis on more often and not always) move and return back to close to original setting without additional repair from blowing out the wood, because if the wood blows out, then a repair is needed. Now, over the years, in response to various factors and special interest groups (builders, structural engineers, municipal building departments, etc.), more seismic resistance has been designed for wood structures, for example, sheathing, so that the building can resist seismic forces without being excessively damaged. Last time I checked, these shear walls are installed with nails, again, to allow some movement without damage, and as the presenter said, nails are more economical. All kinds of aspects are included for the prescriptive building codes for wood structures, and many people volunteer all kinds of their time in such development; it's a really cool process.
My how things have changed. When I first started, we were finishing apartments in Nebraska with pre finished oak trim. Had to pre drill for the 6d nails otherwise it would split. Now everything is guns. So much easier.
I know a lumber yard that still sells loose nails from a bin into a paper bag if you're only buying a pound or two. Real "Old School". Learned a trick while building a Cedar Deck that at the end of the day, if you wet down the deck before you leave, any hammer marks will swell up and no more hammer marks to be seen tomorrow morning.
Another version of that trick is a damp rag and a clothes iron. I use that building furniture to remove dents. In fact, for furniture work, you really shouldn't try to sand out dents or you'll end up with humps when the compressed fibers expand as finish is applied.
I build a 12x16 cabin six miles from a road or power line. I used a 24 oz hammer. I had precut all the framing and had everything marked out. I added on a few years later and used an air nailer.
Muricah!
Is all guns west to coast, question is: "When full auto M4 nail driver?"
Just lick your thumb and rub the moon/halfmoon and keep rolling. Got it from an old timer
@@AMRAMRS - they're full auto when you have someone that's strapped the impact trigger down.
"The more useful we are, the more of a benefit we are to the people around us."
What a great quote, man. Thats the essence of trade work right there. Im an electrician who dabbles in carpentry and I find with this mentality I am constantly busy and gaining money for myself and my goals. Its truly difficult to stay poor when you make yourself so useful.
Godspeed, man. Keep up the great work. I love learning from a guy who has done it all. Im 30, have a woman I love, and to make our dreams come true, a few quick and simple tricks always helps me to feel like I know what Im doing. You have a way of simplifying things for me which make it easier to do complex jobs/projects, and I absolutely think thats a virtue you lend toward your viewers.
Please continue to upload fantastic content--I will devour it. You know so much!!! What a waste to throw it away in death...Im very happy you make videos whewre you share all your knowledge. Thank you for uploading brother
. Im a New-Yorkie-Electrician so our paths may never cross, but I very much hope you keep on keeping on, and continue to share with us your wisdom with us newcomers to the industry. Trust me, we listen if you talk. \m/
You are SO right! the more useful you are the more work will be ahead of you. The good kind of, "Double edged sword." Be GOOD at your job and you may never want for work. The reverse is true and that's what bites so many people.
Yes Sir. If a man simply keeps his eyes open and looks around there is so much work to be done it is hard to imagine a thing called unemployed. It is crowded at the bottom. There is plenty of room at the top because there are not that many men there.
Just remember to not be useful to the wrong people or to people who are willing to exploit you and your skills.
I was thinking of hitting that subscribe button ... but that line really hammered the notion home.
If they don't find you handsome, make sure they find you handy
I'm an English 58 year old carpenter. Favourite part of my job/career has been firing in 4 inch nails.(With my beautiful forty year old Estwing hammer) Love it
Eastwing hammers simply the best.❤
I framed here in Louisiana/U.S A for 30 years. I am 58 now and still have my 22 Oz Estwing framing hammer.
I think Robin Clevitt use the same hammer
I still use my Estwing I bought when I was 15 years old. I am 61 now.
I use Estwing hammers in New Zealand-- best hammers you can get!
35yr veteran of construction and always value your insite and wisdom . I hope our younger population is listening and paying attention to your videos because it is valuable information.
we are! grateful for this channel
Been a carpenter for 10 years so far and have been listening to essential craftsman for as long as he’s been a channel. Even a simple video like this one about nails i love.
Tell me if I’m out of my mind or not… Iam a young man and lax experience and I’m planning on building a work shop shed 16x24’ with construction screws and wood glue thinking it’s going to make it stronger to resist high winds and stand for a century. Am I doing something stupid or is it just over enthusiastic?
Not a carpenter but love the trade younger generation and I love Scott's content!!
We absolutely are paying attention. I know it may not seem like it these days, but plenty of us take pride in our craft and our blue-collar background.
Enjoyed your video. Thanks .
In the60’s as a young man hand driving nails, i learned from the old timers how to bend the end of a nail with the claw of , usually a long handle plumb , so it would curve into an adjoining piece.
So many tricks they used. Something satisfying about hand driving a nail.
My father-in-law was a contractor, and a former boat builder. When he was building something to last out of wood, it was screwed and glued. When building a house/shed/building he would use glue coated nails or staples, exclusively for structure. Regular nails, good for roofing, but of course sized appropriately, and galvanized. What he put together has had to be wrecked out with great effort to replace or it still stands today. He was a craftsman. When building anything as a homeowner, even today, I still use the techniques he taught me.
I’ve loved your channel since day one. You remind me of my first boss, Norris “Doc” Houk. He taught me so much and remains a hero of mine today. More than just carpentry, but about the value and catharsis of work, manhood and life in general. I’ll always remember him fondly.
At 15:55, I absolutely love the mention of Larry Haun. His books "The Very Efficient Carpenter" and "Framing Roofs: with Larry Haun" were game changers for me as a young journeyman carpenter. He's truly a legend. Thanks for the warm memories.
I started driving nails in 1966, and LOL at 10,000 hours to master that skill. I think that's what he said at the end. How the hammer floats in your hand and goes where it suppose to, total correct. In 2000-15, I built my whole house with screws and glue. Because I could. It is not coming apart. I enjoyed watching.
It may not come apart gradually but it could come apart all at once.
@@devinsullivan7233He won't live long enough to see it, and that ought to be good enough for anyone.
Some people are slow learners took me about 4 hours to master it
@@devinsullivan7233 Clever way of putting it. People tend to over look the fact that screws are brittle and not much lateral stress needed to snap right off.
Yep exactly!
Im 23 yrs old and loved to watch your channel a few years back! It was especially interesting when you built that house. Love it!
I’ve been a contractor since the 80s. I ❤ watching old 20s videos of home construction. I always think about plumb bobs, the dude that shows up unloading 5,000 lbs lattice nails or the plumbing truck that shows up with 20,000 lbs of cast iron piping and lead. Stuff like that.
My grandfather was a carpenter, he built subdivisions in Chicago, had a truss factory. When my fathers house burned down in 1976 we rebuilt it. Sheetrock screws had just come out. We used plywood gussets and resin glue on the trusses, big spans. Over the years a lot of those screws snapped under snow loads. Brittle. Had to repair and reinforce those trusses. Modern screws are better, but now I'm always aware of metal fatigue and use screws to pull tight, but then also use plenty of big ductile nails. One of my pet peaves is when I find where someone used roofing nails in a joist hanger. I have always collected hammers, back in the 90s I discovered the Japanese Dogyu. It is by far my favorite when hand driving.
Drywall screws are great I've used hunreds of pounds of them but would never use them as wood connectors, they aren't water proof, too brittle as you say.
Dry wall screws ar # 6. Use # 8 screws, or # 9.The wood will fail first.
That's a metallurgical issue, not mechanical. Screws are superior except for cost and time.
@@pinecone9045I agree. I've worked behind one specific builder in my area. I've seen him do small framing projects with drywall screws. Which is why I'm working behind him and tearing out his work. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. I've tried screwing OSB or plywood with drywall screws, that doesn't work either. The heads break off before you can set the screw. Construction screws are nails are mandatory.
@@evanfinch4987 I will take a cement coated nail over a screw any day. Just try pulling one. Nails have great shear strength. No, there is no "superior" there is only the appropriate use of one or the other.
I loved your quote at the end:
"The more skilled we are, the more useful we are. The more useful we are, the bigger benefit we are to the people around us...Learn how to be more of a benefit to the people around you."
I've been learning woodworking to help me get better at luthier work, and I love how much I can help my students with these skill sets.
Thanks for the video!!
When I was a kid, my cousins and I spent a lot of time at my maternal grandparents house. My grandfather had lived through the depression and fought in WWII, he kept everything LOL. As kids we would be tasked at pulling nails out of chunks of 2x4. He had a couple of 5gallon buckets full of old nails, he’d pay us a nickel or a dime to first straighten the nails, then sort through them. Back then you could buy a fair bit of candy at the corner store for a dime 😊
He also had an old chunk of wood and he’d let us drive nails into that chunk of wood as long as we wanted to.
Fond memories, and yes I have an air nailer, but I can also drive nails!
Cheers from Tokyo!
Some things are almost universal! I grew up in Canada in the 1960s and also pulled nails from old lumber for my Dad. We didn't have much money so we re-used lumber *and* straightened nails to be used again. You know, I only stopped doing this when I was about fifty. It had become habit, but eventually I just couldn't spend so much time on it.
@@KevinMaxwell-o3t same, grew up in the 80s, my dad always had me pulling and straightening nails, which he stored in old coffee cans. Usually Folgers 😊
O ya I had to straighten nails too but I didn’t get paid. But was happy to help and didn’t ask how much I would get paid. I especially loved helping my grandpa. I would shovel manure for two weeks every summer hoping that I might get to drive the riding lawnmower or the dump truck or maybe someday the tractor. Man, those are good times.
Ye old long time ago (talking like 18th century here) when everything was made with cut nails people would burn down derelict structures and take the nails with them.
My grandfather saved a lot of nails over the years. When they bought their first house the builder being a regular builder dropped a lot of nails, my grandparents asked if they could go over in the evenings and pick up all the nails, the builder said go for it. Grandpa said for a couple decades they never had to buy any nails, he had buckets full of them from around that house and all the surrounding homes in that subdivision.
One hardware store in town where I live still sells nails by the pound...everything else is in boxes or tubs. Prices on nails/screws anymore is ridiculous.
I have several air nailers, but I find myself using a hammer and regular nails most of the time for projects because its faster than waiting for the air compressor, running the cord and air hose, etc.
My next door neighbor built a machine shed rather shaped like an amphitheater, that is open on one side. He never considered the prevailing winds, so the open side faced into the prevailing winds. Being a pilot and conscious of the winds I suggested he turn it around, but he didn't listen. He used nails for the siding and the roof, and he was constantly having to replace pieces of siding that got blown off. I suggested that he use screws on the siding, but no, he didn't listen. Then one day along comes a derecho and the entire roof lifted off in one piece and was deposited behind the building, destroying it. He had saved a couple of bucks using nails instead of screws. It cost him thousands. He asked me to help him build it back, and I insisted that he use screws, screw the costs. (pun intended). We built it back using treated deck screws, and it has never lost any panels or the roof since. And we have had some fierce winds since. You will never convince me (or him) that nails are better than screws!
Nails would have been sufficient if not for the poor planning from the start.
@@vorpalbladesEvidence suggests that nails were never sufficient to meet the requirements.
Nails are superior to screws in certain applications, screws are superior to nails in certain applications. The right tool for the right job. No one-size-fits-all solution.
The argument in the video was never that nails are better than screws. The argument is that when nails are adequate for an application, they can be placed MUCH faster than screws, reducing construction costs. As economist Thomas Sowell frequently points out, “There are no ideal solutions, only trade-offs.”
I'm assuming that you turned it round so it was against the prevailing wind. Could this be why nails didn't work?Had he done this in the first place, Maybe the nails would have been fine.
Excellent video!
I recently broke down a crate that a steel building was shipped in. I completely disassembled it, saved all the nails and material then fixed the barn garage door frame and door.
Then built two 8 foot feed troughs for the goats. Built a small hay house and 4 custom made saw horses and I still have a hundred nails left and am going to build a rifle bench and even after that I’m still going to have material and nails left. 😂
When I’m done I’ll have repurposed that entire crate. I couldn’t believe how many nails I pulled out of it 🤣
I am just a ripe old 56-year-old who is most irritated most often by people who leave nails and screws in wood laying around in a pile. It's good to hear your comment because now I don't feel so alone.
@@michaelcava1291 I’m a ripe 57 😂 and thanks man!
I really like repurposing materials like that. I rarely buy lumber.
Great episode brother! I started out with handsaws and hammers. Like you said, skillsaws and nailguns revolutionized construction. I was "fortunate" enough to work for an antique home restoration company back on the east coast. These were homes built before the 1850's. ALL power tools were banned from the job site! The owners were historical purists and demanded the level of skills and workmanship that were used during the original construction of their homes. Many times we had to replace rotted out foundation sill beams and had the oak 6x6's cut at local sawmills. The longest one we did was 36', one piece of straight oak 6x6. Each wall stud was pocketed mortise and tendon into the sill. Brace and bit, hand chisels, oak pegs, hardly any nails! Any nails used on the job were hand wrought square nails. It took forever, but these folks had plenty of money and time. I think the Amish still do construction like this. Amazing times.
If you don't mind saying, what company did you work for if they're still around? I'm interested in learning more of this traditional craftsmanship!
@@gabemorris3143 I worked with a small specialty contractor based in Killingworth Connecticut. That was over 45 years ago, I doubt he's still active. It was something like "Post & Beam Specialies". He never advertised, didn't have to. All the work was through referrals by members of the historical society. We also did slate roofs and had an affiliate who was an expert mason that specialized in "bee-hive" ovens, "Count Rumford" style fireplaces, cut granite, brownstone, "field rock", non-mortar stone walls, etc.
If you live in the New England area, I would inquire with the local historical societies, who they use or know of, that does this kind of work with traditional methods. You can also search for "Post and Beam" contractors in the New England area. If they don't know what mortise & tenon/oak peg frame construction is, then you're talking to the wrong folks.
16:30 one of the most trueful statement ever said.
That statement is why I am now subscribed to you, I came to learn alittle about nails vs screws but will stay for the wisdom and shared learning. Thank you.
Sir, it's a joy to watch you talking about nails. Thank you for sharing your experience
Daddy learnt me to drive nails many years ago, I got a little brad nail gun and it was great for little projects in the shop, some trim here and there, got a finish nail gun, it was great, when I got the framing nail gun, a Bostich he was like, you dont need that, till he seen me using it over head and nailing stuff that was a pain with a hammer, he changed his mind real quick, although the palm nailer almost did him in, I told him to put the nail in the snout of it, and then press it where you want to nail, and push, well first time he pushed the nail in the snout a bit to hard, that palm nailer shot it out, just missing his head, he learnt after that, great in tight spaces, sure miss them times with him, thanks for the great vids Scott
If you are paid by hour its good to do it with hammer, if you are paid for the project then its better to use nail gun. hahah, Nah, its always better to use a tool that will make your life easier and faster, so you still have some energy to spend in your private life.
Remodel contractor here. It feels odd to say it here, but our little company takes out the single framing nailer we own maybe once a year? Between GRKs and the ease of use/training efficiency of an impact driver, it doesn't make sense to use most of the time. When clients have us move walls or the city has us modify something after installation, being able to take something apart quickly and change it is important. When we have gut remodels with lots of sistering or if we had an addition, it's another story, but even for a structural remodel, most of the time, screws are the way.
Always use screws in remodeling because the customer will change their mind.
Remodeler from northern MN, impacts and GRK's. Plastic collated gun nails throw shrapnel everywhere.
Great video...As a retired electrician who putzes around home and neighbor projects....I remember the days as an apprentice with my big heavy Vaughn waffle-head hammer smashing fiber outlet boxes and too frequently the same knuckle on my other hand. Learning the hard way to never leave your hammer on top of your ladder, etc. After all these years in the trade nice presentation of things I was somewhat familiar with...But never really knew the why's and how's until now...Interesting and informative. Thank you!
You’re the best man. There are so many new age guys on TH-cam using the latest gel adhesive and screw guns that think they’re mighty smart.
As a contractor ,I framed a house by hand once in the eighties...My completion time was 2-3 days behind a similar, in competency, crew that used nail guns ....In the eighties price competition was tough , no room for sloppiness or waste.
I accomplished it by staying a few more hrs a day myself...I would send the crew home after 8 hrs..then I would prep for the next day in late afternoon
Another benefit was cost ..a box of loose nails were considerably cheaper than gun nails...As contracts generally went in those days ,,the builder supplied the loose nails and the framer had to supply gun nails....basically my cost other than the crew was a skill saw..
Same time period , I was in a 3 man crew with nail guns ....we worked 10 hrs a day...we would just barely make a 2 week completion time on our houses.....Across the road were a couple of framers only 2 of them ..They were faster than our crew..///They handnailed the houses.. and they were slight in build...they would take 1 hr lunches compared to our 15 mins..
We figured the quality of their houses must be bad ...one day when they went for lunch , we went to inspect their work.....couldnt find any flaws...
The takeaway is a well planned build can out pace nail guns.......Just have to convince your crew
Unless of course you plan your work and use a nail gun. Then you win on all accounts.
I worked with some serious high end roof framers and they screwed everything. I never saw anyone that fast
Nail guns are used a by junk or trash Carpenters. Nail guns shoot the 16 penny nail into the studs way too fast , and the glue coating is ineffective. I tell people all the time no hire a contractor who uses nail guns , thier junk builders .
@@raylear-z7b cant argue that
@@raylear-z7bdid ya ever try to tear a pallet apart? Pretty sure they’re put together with nail guns.
Great video. When I learned basic carpentry working with my families business in high school circa 1998, nail guns had really just started becoming ubiquitous on the job site, yet I was told every day to grab my nails from the bucket and hammer by hand, our foreman and one other lead guy would go through and do a lot of the tedious work with their nail guns while I was finishing up framing by hand. They finally allowed me to use the last couple of weeks I worked with them before I went to college and they thought it was really funny watching me realize how easy and fast it was compared to the swinging I had been doing the past two years, but the foreman told me “you’ll be glad later in life that you learned to swing that hammer though….dont forget that skill”
"When comparing shear strength, nails generally have significantly more shear strength than screws; meaning nails are better at resisting sideways forces, while screws are better at handling pulling forces (tensile strength) due to their threads that grip the wood more effectively. Nails can bend slightly under pressure from the side, allowing them to absorb lateral forces without snapping, making them ideal for applications where side-to-side stress is high, like framing a house. Screws, with their rigid design, are more likely to break when subjected to significant shear force, as they lack the flexibility of nails to bend and accommodate lateral pressure."
This is why if you've ever installed a safety hook up on the roof, you'll notice it says in bold NAILS ONLY!
I was surprised he didn't really discuss this. It's a critical distinction
Residual strength after a screw starts pulling out is close to zero on a nail there still is some strength in the connection because it hasn't shared the wood fibers when it started to fail.
Nails bend, screws break. Just what I thought, besides speed and costs.😊
Yep
I don’t download many TH-cam videos, but I’ll refer back to this one for years. Thank you. I’m a former desk-jockey and I’m renovating my own home solo for the next year or two. I couldn’t have paid for a lesson as good as this one.
Spoken as a true craftsman... thank you for your professionalism, your time to contribute your experience and expertise. This is an upper journeyman class. What we talk about during breaks at work with our apprentices.
Never heard about blunting a nail to avoid splitting. Fascinating.
A very old carpenter trick
My young apprentice showed my experienced crew and I, we did not believe him, he showed us and we definitely believed him afterwards, but we still call it Voodoo.
To the man who never heard about Blunting a nail…..I’ll be 70 in October. My father taught me that trick when I was 10 years old it was 1965. It’s been around forever.same bacon
@@jfabiani it spreads the fibers when you nail near the end of a board. This causes splits. Blunting the nail tip causes the tip to rip thru the wood fiber avoiding splits. Also if you run a hand nail thru your hair, against the scalp, you can drive it (mostly) thru a knot!! Try it! 40 year carpenter.
@@samuelbacon1596 Cool.
I guessed it was cost. My house was built nearly 100 years ago and all nailed. Back then they had no Torx screw or drivers, not yet nail guns. In the UK it was a good time for building quality. Materials were good quality and kiln-dried timber hadn't yet been invented. Consequently, the house is in excellent condition. Btw, I enjoyed the tradional names for the nail sizes.
You've given me 'grampa' vibes, in the sense your videos remind me of my late grampa. He was awesome, and taught me everything about being handy, not to mention he was a man of integrity and was immensely interesting. And you just taught me a tip for life, as well. I really love this.
We don't know what the penny in penny nail means in Canada. At least for the 50 years I was a carpenter.
Before nailers we had 3 1/2" and 4" Spikes in common, ardox (twisted shank) and galvanized form.
We used 1 1/2" up to 2 1/2" common for sheathing, underlay and bridging of joists and an array of finish nails for finish. No pennies! Always knew about it but never understood it.
From 72 to 80 or so all you heard on a building site was saws and hammers.
A wonderful sound that's hard to describe unless you experience it.
I could tell by the sound of the tools who was working on what without looking up. Every carpenter had a sound of their own when hammering.
Something about building a house start to finish with just a hammer.
When the nailers appeared I was one of the lucky ones who didn't shoot themselves in the first 6 months. Mostly in the leg! But you get in tune with it, and accurate and it's the only way now.
Cheers 🇨🇦
Canadian engineer here. I still don’t fully understand the penny designation. I wish we would just call it what it is, diameter!
It’s a 16mm bolt, so why not call it a 3mm nail? And don’t get me started on gauge!
@@ImranZakhaev9 We went metric some 50 years ago and still use gauges for screws. The fact that we can't nail this issue drives me nuts. As for nails, expressing them by their length (in mm of course) is more useful than expressing them by their diameter because the diameter is 'attuned' to the length, within about 0,5mm. Not so with bolts.
I will say that 10d is a lot less of a mouthful than "0.148"x3" nail".
@@ImranZakhaev9 Blame the English, they started the whole "d" thing. As for the metric system you have to understand the glee with which we Americans ignore it, it truly gives us joy. No amount of snark will change that, it just makes it funnier.
I work for a nail and screw manufacturer. Penny designation was based on how many pennies a pound of said size cost, back when nails were forged by hand.
Over time it's become more standardized with "penny" designating a length. Penny doesn't tell the whole story though, because you can have 10D .120 diameter and .131 diameter. Much like a box is thinner than a sinker is thinner than a common. Box nails were for building boxes of thinner lumber or installing 1X boards and commons were for framing. The sinker was an evolution making them easier to drive and to hold better. Usually see them designated CC for cement coated.
EG "electro-galvanized" and HDG or HG for hot dipped galvanized or hot-galv. This process softens or aneals the steel making the starting product's heat treatment more crucial.
Then there are hardened nails for masonry and heavy timber or "polebarn" nails.
The reason nails generally are more ductile (soft) than screws is because of heat treatment. Screws need to be harder to form threads and withstand the torque required to drive them in. That makes them shear more easily during repeated movement or flexion. Structural screws are tougher because they are tempered after hardening, making them harder to shear.
When I was 13 (59 now), I helped my dad build houses. My 3 favorite things were nailing 3/4” plywood subflooring (2 strike, singing nails), driving a bobcat shovel front loader, and moving 3/4” and 1/2” plywood sheets from the driveway pallets to the workers. Love your video on how to leverage plywood sheeting, it’s easy when you know how! (Can’t lift it now and amazed at how I could then). Not that it should make any difference but I am a girl and my daughter is an industrial engineer project manager, she says her favorite childhood memories were when we would discuss how she though things were built. Love your channel! ❤❤❤
unfortunately i have not encountered a nailed subfloor that didn't pull up and creak eventually. these days subfloors should ideally be fastened with screws to prevent this from happening over time. i am going through my house and re-fastening the subfloors as i replace the flooring to fix this issue. takes 30 or 40 years to become an issue, but it will be an issue eventually.
I think that was a great video! I'm 35 year old ac guy and remodeling my first house. I love your passion
I built my house using 3 inch coated deck screws. The screws I used outperformed nailgun nails in every category including sheer strength, with one exception, time to fasten.
Think your house will ever fall over? How do screws outperform nails in sheer strength?
@@teamdada2194 Screws can't be used to frame houses as per building codes in my area for that exact reason.
@@leschab thats not how any of this works. Its load cals the engineer provides that determines the compliance
For the longest time, I thought about half of the nails I bought were defective, with the point and/or the head on the wrong end. It took me forever to realize they were for the other side of the house.
Wish they were labeled:
Left handed, Right handed, upside down and regular. 🤷
😂😂😂 Good one! 😂😂😂
yeah, same happened to me until I realized the supplier got a shipment that was supposed to go to Australia and not the USA
@@silentepsilon888 You may have just solved the riddle for me as to why screws go in different directions depending on which way I twist the screwdriver. It's been haunting me for years.
So in Australia when you’re working with screws, is it Righty Loosey, Lefty Tighty? Wow, that was hard to type! Lol
I was looking for a definitive guide to choose the right fastener, and I think this video nailed it.
As an engineer from Europe, these items are interesting to watch. Partly it is a history lesson, like I did not know that there were pennies in the imperial system, we measure our nails in mm like 3 X 60. And partly I am shocked that houses in the US are built like how we would build a garden shed. Nevertheless I am pleased to see the skills you have and I can still learn something.
I know, right? Used to buy German-made hex-head screws - 4mm shaft, threads so sharp you could cut yourself, threads stamped wavy at the point so they'd grip the timber against vibration. Awesome engineering quality.
The big problem is most US houses are built as cheaply as possible for maximum profit instead of providing lasting homes. Only a few places build stone/concrete homes, such as Chicago, but they had to experience devastating fire prior to this practice.
@@RDKirbyN stone and concrete is not better its just different
@@h2s-i9o
As with the vast majority of things in life, it depends. Most wood framed homes currently under construction in the US now won’t last past a 30-year mortgage used to pay for them.
@@Talon19 that claim has nothing to do with wood framing. If it is true its not the issue of building science but poor craftsmanship.
Yep, Time and money. That's why, nails and pinning them with nail guns is a faster way to join wood than screws and drivers. And when a house requires thousands or tens of thousands, it adds up quickly. Great video as always !!
A good craftsman does not work to perfection, he knows how to save time. And thereby save their clients money. When I had parts of my house redone, I went with a highly recommended but expensive contractor. His hourly rates were up there, but he ended up being cheaper than the competition and got the job done right in 1 go.
Nothing better then the sound of an impact clicking 😅
The prospect of reusable stick frame housing is interesting. Screws would certainly benefit in this scenario. We may be a long way from recylcing houses but what a relief to the forests that provide all the wood if we maximized the use if the lumber already cut!
One thing you didn't mention Scott- most of these screws are brittle and that is why they are not used for structural projects. Of course, structural screws have the ability to bend somewhat- similar to the nails. If you are building something which must move- say, anything inside a motorhome or trailer, screws are the ticket- never use nails in a RV. Thanks for all the insight you share with us. Cheers.
I've even seen Timberlok and Headlok screws broken in half by a load. A nail just bends.
Probably just me but this episode has vibes of a more early / old school Essential Craftsman video. Love it
TH-cam in my case has always been great for learning.
Excellent show. I’ve been framing since I was 14. We hand drove thousands of nails. I switched to guns in the 80s in Nashville. Mostly Paslode. I worked for the Paslode office as well. I’ve been using a combination of framing nails and framing screws ( star head) for years. No call backs, or problems. I use galvies on fencing and steel posts with the cedar. A big fan of tapcons as well! My Hitachi gun has been great , and my Stanley angled finish guns too. I won the contest at lowes for driving a framing mail in one hit! Lol. 32 Oz framing hammer with waffle head. So fun… everyone needs to stop calling every circular saw a Skilsaw lol. Yes to 3” gun nails! Keep it oiled and clean. Also using paslode cordless with fuel cells. Nice job!! Driving nails by hand with a favorite framing hammer is so satisfying! A balanced Plumb hammer is a thing of beauty! Keep up the awesome videos. Subscribing now!
The question shouldn't be: "why are we still using nails to build houses". It should be: "Why aren't we using brick and mortar to build houses?"
Anyone with some common sense will know the answer to that. It’s expensive. Houses are already expensive as is with just wood and drywall
Bricks and mortar are expensive, slow to build, and still don't stand up when the Russians come calling. A wood frame house can be rebuilt easily and quickly once you make the Russians go back home.
@@Bimmertech4u Actually a Soviet military attaché was invited to survey the damage to the city of Hiroshima after the bombing, but not Nagasaki. Unlike Hiroshima built of sticks and thin planks, Nagasaki was wealthier and had many stone structures. The damage wasn't "impressive" to show the russkis. But the easiest part to make sure the Russians don't come, Trump and Musk have already done - closed down USAID so they no longer fund color revolutions & cause other mischief in Russia's back yard.
Brick is very bad material - in case of an earthquake it is incredibly weak so very bad for the Western USA, wood with nails will ride the waves of the quake and come out mostly intact. Very few private homes were damaged in the 2001 Seattle earthquake or the big 1994 Los Angels quake. Also, brick requires and air gap so you need 2 layers of brick with an air gap in the middle or brick on the outside and cinderblock on the inside so that is double the work for no reason = $$$. And brick breathes - it transfers humidity and water from one side to the other so very poor insulator. Wood frame homes have a solid, NON-breathable exterior like cement board siding, or plastic siding or painted wood siding, these do NOT transfer humidity at all in to the building and modern American homes have a plastic wrap under the siding so it is totally air tight, no outside air going in at all so you have positive air pressure in the home that keeps hot air inside - SUPER efficient in keeping the house warm - can't do that with brick. When you add central heating with ducts like most American homes - the entire air in the house is heated SUPER comfortable and yet it is cheap to heat. Win-Win.
@@drscopeify seriously? The proof is in Europe. Buildings made of bricks have lasted centuries. Including earthquake prone areas. For most of USA a brick building would withstand the weather far better. Unless you build with a hardwood frame, such as in my 14th century timber framed house, wood is an inferior material. For earthquake prone areas a steel frame is the best. If we are honest, softwood is fast and cheap.
I’ve often wondered . . .
More important: Am I using the fasteners correctly? In general, both nails and screws are intended to hold things together. They’re not intended to carry loads. Whenever you frame something, ask if it would remain together if all the nails and screws magically disappeared. If they won’t, you’ve a bad design.
Am I fastening something that will later be removed? Better use screws.
THANK YOU for the primer on the types and uses of nails. I think every box store ought to have a poster up explaining these details.
I mean, that's simply not true... Fasteners are very often intended to carry loads, even when working with wood. I don't disagree that it's a good idea to try and make your design less dependent on load bearing fasteners, especially tension loading if you are using nails, but it doesn't mean it's a bad design if it does or that the fasteners aren't up to the task... I mean joist hangers themselves are held due to the shear load on the nails or screws and they are very common and a very secure way of connecting support beams.
"Am I fastening something that will later be removed? Better use screws."
If you mean non-destructively removed, yes. If you mean destructively removed, no. It's a giant pain in the ass to unscrew something (especially something that's really old) if you just want to tear it all apart. If something is nailed together, you can just bang it all apart. Can't do that if it's screwed together.
This reminded me of how Adam Savage explains maker skills, especially in his book. Lovely. Clear. Informative.
Just a FYI... They do make bit holders for those wire detent bits that mechanically hold the bit in the driver vs just relying on a magnet to hold the bit in place.
or you can buy the regular Ryobi holders that the bits stick and you have to either beat them out or yank them out with a pair of pliers - course the irritation factor is so great it's easier to just keep losing the bits
As an architect, one of the primary reasons I specify nails over screws at certain locations is their malliability under sheer loads. Nails bend, screws snap.
Structural screws and engineered steel hangers have revolutionized a lot of our connections, at a cost, but nails are proven and hard to beat for quick and durable wood framed construction.
As just a carpenter, nails have shear strength as screws have tensile strength. I use each accordingly. Framing and sheathing need the sheer strength.
As an engineer, this comment makes absolutely no sense to me. For one, engineers sign off on technical aspects of construction given an architect's design to determine whether it is structurally sound, code compliant and feasible to build within a set of given parameters. Or maybe you live in a place that uses architect and engineer interchangeable, who knows.
@@Fallenarches structural screws today provide 3x the sheer strength of equivalent size nails (as the video above covers). There are exactly two reasons screws are not used today in place of nails is that they are more expensive and they are slower to install. Strength or versatility in dynamic or sheer loads has not been a concern for at like 1 to 2 decades.
@@HaploBartow no they don't hit one siedways and you will see...
Screws never see direct shear forces since you are clamping two surfaces and putting them in tension where they perform best. This shear/ductile concept is utter bull and nonsense regurgiated online. There are tons of structures built across Europe and early America with forged nails that are harder(less ductile) than any screw you could hope to buy. Again, forged nails clamp, similar to screws. Wire nails suck, are cheap, and economical. I can understand why modern builders build with them but let's not mistake the common Contractor with the builder of a Chateau.
Decades ago, my Grandfather used both glue and screws to put up a strong, tight 2,200 sq. ft. house 🏠
In a really bad wind storm 7 years ago, most of the neighborhood houses fell or were damaged. But my Grandfather's place was just fine !
So yes! There is a difference!
Just had a major upgrade to our 125 year old house in The Netherlands. No nails are used. Our hous is middle in the open. We have like 5 storms a year and never damage. Maybe nails are cheap but we prefer durability.
How is the house held together?
@runningwater5936 the wood is probably actually joined with interlocking joints. Takes a lot of skill and time to do, and has to be done right, but if it is done right it gives you a very strong connection.
Scott's "screwing" around on Saturday, and "pitching" the pluses and minuses of each fastener, and I for one can't wait to follow this "thread" and see the comments. I'm sure no matter what the outcome, Scott will hit the nail on the head and provide us with his unique perspective. In for a "penny", in for a "pound".
The house that I grew up in was built by my dad as the general contractor in 1957 in Northridge California. House withstood the 1971 Sylmar and the 1994 Northridge earthquake with little to no damage. My folks also raised three kids in that house and it's still standing strong even though nails were the only fasteners used to build it.
"I know what I like, and I like what I know." Inflexible thinking limits opportunities, and the inability fix and move on from mistakes also holds one back.
But also keep in mind that it takes time and experience to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of doing things in a certain way. There's a difference between theory and practice. There's a certain family of ideologies, favored by those who considered themselves open-minded, which caused about 100 million deaths last century, and now the inflexibility is found mostly in the thinking of progressives.
Me as a Belgian, not working in construction watching this. Ooh 1 1/4" nail. Soooo 2,54 cm/4=0,635cm
2,54 cm + 0,635cm = 3,175cm
Okay i'm with you, go on 😂
I graduated Emmett Obrien State Tech in 1976 Carpenty class. Arnold Berg was my SHOP teacher. He taught me to rub a common finish nail on my nose for skin lubricant to prevent the nail from bending in hardwood. It works. Also if larger common nails keep bending in softer woods while hand nailing just grip the hammer more firmly. That works too.
RIP ARNIE
Nail technology has progressed. Nails tolerate sid stress better, but subject to pull out. Modern hurricane nails best of both worlds, but no pulling them out
Use ring shank nail. Not subject to pull out
@@CaptainRon1913ring shanks are brittle
@@toddmichael4271 gun fired ring shanks are not brittle in the least.
My old boss, who taught me years ago, made me hammer nails until I learned where to place them properly and how not to split things. You have a better feel for the harder softer and grains of wood when hand nailing. And I still do it sometimes, just easier on small jobs .
I am trash with a hammer and don't have a nailgun, so I just screwed my whole house together.
That saying about it not being the tool but the person using it definitely holds truth as well. I love seeing how several do things and then decide which method I like personally. Soon I am going to have a few acres and I want to learn how to build my own sheds, decks and everything. Love finding your channel recently.
My house in Australia has a steel frame. Frame was fully put up in two days, all pieces came precut from the factory, and it's all screwed together.
Termites? I never have to worry about them. The initial cost was slightly higher, but in the long term it's a far higher quality product than nailing pieces of wood.
How's the insulation on it? I can imagine steel heats up more than wood in the sun!
@@stevencooper4422doesn't matter if it's covered
Mt grandfather was a carpenter. I'm not sure exactly when he started, probably the late 50s or early 60s. He passed in the late 80s. He could pretty much do it all. My mom still has the blueprints and the materials list for the house that my mom and dad built in the late 70s that he drew up. He did everything from the foundation to the roofing. And the plumbing. He could build custom cabinets if you had the money for that.
I know he did finish work, too. I never saw much of that, though.
I kick myself in the tail every day for not working with him and learning the trade when I was a young man. He was a little difficult to work with, though. 😂 He pretty much worked alone. My uncles even said that they couldn't work with him.
A missed opportunity for me and a lot of knowledge lost when he passed away.
My Dad was like that. Great Master Craftsman. Built his retirement home in the ‘70’s or early’’80’s. He could build anything, right. I wanted to work with him so badly and to learn from him, but just as you said, he couldn’t or I think wouldn’t teach me. He worked alone most of the time. On construction jobs he worked faster and better than everyone else. He was invaluable
@sport07-o2l there's not many people like that around anymore.
I started in the late 80s, would love to have a high school grad or dropout work with me. It's a dying art.
Thank you. I should have that training 50 years ago. Thank you again for that information.
There is allot to be said for age and wisdom, the information you have from years of working and the common sense you depart are very valuable. Working and learning how to be the best at a craft cannot be understated, there are those who never capitalize on their knowledge and experience. Your insights are priceless, keep up the good work
I just bought a ~800 pack of 3-1/8 inch construction screws and it was damn near 75$… 1000 framing nails for less than half the price
40 years of every nail and screw I’ve used and still learning something new 👍
Honestly anyone who definitively states X is superior to Y or vise versa probably isn’t well versed in construction technology. Each has strengths and weaknesses, even within their own type. When I was early in my construction career I had an older engineer enlighten me about why we use both. For example, why, from an engineering point of view was it better to use a power actuated framing nailer with framing nails to assemble a stick built wall vs 3.5 inch screws…. The nails are tempered such that they have flex and aren’t brittle. They handle the stresses of assembly much better than screws which tend to be of a higher temper. Meaning the nails will bend a little to absorb stresses that would snap a screw.
That’s just one example. I think what separates the top 5% of contractors/carpenters/tradesmen from the bottom 95% is an aptitude AND willingness to learn about your trade and the other trades around you. Instead of complaining about the inspector or the engineer I learned to get on their good side by asking them relevant questions about the project or building technology and picked their brain for useful knowledge. And in most cases they also would develop a mutual respect. I call that a win/win.
👍🔨🪚👍
The thing is, first where is a nail bending useful, as where that happens, you have serious movement, then second you'll be more concerned about the inevitable split it made where and when it bent.
For a screw to snap, you're talking the same distance as above with a nail bending.
For the deck of the floating pier, hot galvanized nails are the only solution. Screws will just snap.
Nails are softer than screw for the most part which means they are more resistant to stress. Screws shear off & nails don’t (unless they’re expensive structural screws). Both have their place..but when it comes to production, you cannot beat nailing.
Doesn’t that mean that the nails just fail in a different way? Instead of a catastrophic failure, like a screw snapping, the nail just bends so that it’s no longer holding both pieces in the same place as they were before the shear stress was applied. That kind of silent, insidious failure doesn’t seem great to me. Maybe it’s less problematic in certain scenarios.
This literally does not make sense.
The first rough carpenter I worked for always said this "if I can't nail it screw it" He was an awesome carpenter, I learned so much from that guy. 8s and spikes 8s and spikes!
Explaination starts at 2:04
In some countries any new house has to be built using brackets that are screwed in place.
In the USA it is all about saving money and time at the expense of quality.
Most modern American homes start to fall apart after 5 to 10 years because they are built using the cheapest materials available using the fastest methods possible.
The trend in Australia is to use steel frames because of the termite problem and as the majority of Australian new homes are brick on the outside and plasterboard on the inside walls having a steel frame makes more sense.
Yall also dont really have wood on hand. Here you cant go an hour of driving without seeing miles of trees
@randomuser5443 we actually export wood to other countries and have some of the world's largest commercial pine forests in the world along with other more rare timber varieties.
Enjoyed another video. 6 years of watching and listening as I learn from a professional. Thank you.
As a European, I am always shocked that US homes stay in one piece considering how they are built.
You're stuck in the past. Houses aren't built with just nails and wood anymore-they're made of stone and concrete. Ever wonder why everything you build either burns down, collapses at the slightest tremor, or gets blown away by the first strong wind?
Hey dipstick, only prisons are built with walls of stone and concrete. Most houses are still made of wood, and most businesses have a mix of sheet metal, wood, and drywall. Even so, just because it's made of concrete and stone doesn't mean it's well built or will hold up to the stresses of an earthquake or Father time. And if you were to build using just concrete and stone doesn't mean you won't be using nails or screws as well.
LOL my wood framed house is 100 years old and has been through 2 tornados and many more thunderstorms. you literally have no clue what youre talking about 😂
I learned to blunt siding nails from a New England carpenter in 1980....was skeptical, but later followed it religiously on wood shakes, all of which had been pre-stained on both sides - every one of them was to be used...as in precious commodity. Everything leads to another thing in carpentry !
fixmyproperty AI fixes this. Building houses: nails over screws
I so appreciate your videos I am always learning something or reminded of something like this is why we use these nails on a simpson metal hanger.
Not a builder here, yet i subscribed because you are a gem to watch. An Ace of your craft, and a true gentleman.
Thank you. 🙏. You are totally right and correct ✅
I was hesitant on clicking on this video at first because I thought I knew the obvious answer and didn't want to hear it, that answer being that screws break much easier than nails, which is a valid point, but I'm glad that you went in depth as to the many many other reason as to why nails are so hard to replace, without bashing screws, and acknowledging that both have their place.
Great job. Thank you 😊
I truly love and appreciate your videos. You have a priceless amount of knowledge. Glad to see that this video alone has over 1 million views in 10 days. At least some people out there are still interested in the art forms that build the world. Keep up the great work and cheers from San Diego elevator constructor
The little comment a out throwing a hammer just taught me how to do it right. Fixing my fence got a lot easier, thanks for that
Wonderful philosophy statement at the end of the video. That is the point when you have got inside my heart - as fast as driving the nail into a board.
I am just a DIY wood worker. I have always used screws because I believed nails were not useful, they came loose easily, and do not hold up to vibration well. But after watching this i might start using nails a little more than I do, assuming they hold up as well as claimed. Appreciate the video and the insight all the same!
Good job explaining things I didn’t understand.
Thank you. Enjoyed your video.
You are right about skills. The more skills you have, the more you are able to do. Chief
Man… my jaw literally dropped when I heard the trick about blunting the tip of the nail to prevent splitting. Of course!
Love your videos!
I am a carpenter, and I know most of this, but its still fascinating for me to watch.,
Great episode and comments.
16:32 Amen!
The other day at work I was continuing a discussion with another manger about upcoming schedule changes(reduced days) I'm going to need. Previously I'd mentioned the days I thought would work for both the store and me, but in this new discussion some dynamics had shifted so we were spit-balling revisions, and he commented about the days I was desiring. I had to stop and explain that I personally have no preference beyond number of days per week and some consistency - I just thought those days were the ones were I could serve best!