Tore off and redid this deck with torx head deck screws. Makes for a nice neat job. You want nice & neat don't you?
You should not be using a 16 or even 15 gauge finish nail to install syp treated decking. The wire guage is too thin, heads are not large enough and the nails are cut from coated wire so the end will rust. I agree with the screws on many levels especially for a small job like this. However the quality of today’s screws stinks and they will all likely stain even the stainless.The likelihood if getting any screw out after a number of years is not guaranteed. Most will snap or the drive will cam out.
It has been almost 4 years and none of my stainless screws have stained or rusted. I had to take a few out when they built a pergola over my deck and those came out without issue. That's why I chose Torx over any sort of Phillip head.
I have this exact same nail gun. I am not a professional framer. But I own a gutter installation company. So I'm around alot of construction. and do all of my own work on my house. I've built two additions on my house totaling 700 sq ft. and a 12x16 garden shed with my nail gun. As a DIY person doing occasional projects a quality nail gun like the one in this quoted message could potentially last decades. If you get a dewalt battery operated nail gun plan on buying a couple of big batteries with it. I could see it being quite expensive over all. For decking I would always recommend screws though. And don't sink them so far that you can't see the screw head's. If you ever need to remove a board it can be a horrible task.
I am in the screw camp also. My deck here is rather small, but i used some kind of coated screws. I just went to the garage and see that these are "special" for composite decking. I used Trex. They look brown and about 15 years later they still appear the same.
Doing a lot of trim work around the house for the wife and got an air. I wouldn't go battery. Friend has battery and I'm not a fan
If you're dead set on nails and a cordless nailer buy a gas charged one ( Paslode or Senco ) but as others suggest screws are better in almost every way for a deck.
Wow. Lots of strong opinions! Everyone has different experiences with different projects! From my perspective, nails are something we used to hold decking boards down before we had the wide variety of construction screws we do these days. Why? Because wood and composite decking moves with temperature and humidity. If you never want to reseat nails in your new deck boards, use screws (in my opinion, of course, based on my personal experience). With PT, you MIGHT have to predrill the boards to use screws, depending on the screw and the board moisture. The only reasonable reason I can think of to use smooth shank nails on decking (always common nails, always galvanized or stainless) is to be able to remove and replace easier in the future. And with PT decking, that is certainly possible. Maybe. Have fun!
I'm in the screw it camp. Make a mistake, you just unscrew it. Need to match whats there? When was the last time you looked at someone else's deck to see if their fastners matched
Id get a 1/4 impact driver and use torx head screws. Nails in decking likes to back out. If you do decide to do nails dewalt makes a 20v xr framing nailer and ive seen those build houses.
Grab a hammer, a pair of pliers, and pull all the old nails out. Straighten them in the powder coated vice, wash in mineral spirits. hand scuff with scotch bright pads. Lightly coat with Zink/Galvanized coatings. Verify part numbers. Hit the stupid nails in with a hammer, grab a cold beer, repeat!
I prefer torx screws but if you want to borrow a nailer I have pneumatic one if you want to borrow it. Not sure what shipping would be???
I appreciate that but I think I'm going to take Fred's advice and buy the nailer in the Amazon link. My fasteners won't match but I think I can reconcile that with enough therapy
Nails are for the 1900s, torx head deck screws 2000s. Plus you should already own a good driver or drill. But the urge to bug a new tool you dont have may be hard to over come. I was tempted to get a nail gun ounce, but i would end up nailing things i shouldnt be nailing so i just borrowed one from friend .
Cordless collated screw guns rock, but I don't know who all makes them. My old Ridgid 18V one is pretty trick.
