My old boss swore by a 3-inch nail for framing, but I switched to 3.25 inches.

I used to frame with 3-inch nails for years because that's how I was taught. On a big garage job last month, I had a lot of kick-out on the top plates. My supplier was out of 3-inchers, so I grabbed a box of 3.25-inch nails instead. The extra quarter inch made a huge difference in holding power, especially on the wind bracing. I haven't had a single nail back out since I made the switch. Has anyone else found a small change like this that fixed a common problem?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy6284d ago

My uncle always said the difference between a good job and a great one is in the quarter inches. He built cabinets, not houses, but the idea is the same. It's funny how we stick with what we know even when a tiny tweak solves the problem. I see it with underlayment thickness all the time. People fight with a floor feeling soft when just a bit more material underneath would make it solid for good. Why do you think we resist those small changes for so long?

grace_campbell4d ago

My old boss used to say we get "solution blind." Once you've installed a hundred floors with the same underlayment, it's hard to even see the thin layer as the variable. You just assume the subfloor is off. Changing a routine feels like admitting the last hundred jobs were wrong.

the_nathan4d ago

Ever think it's just plain old stubbornness?