opinions - nails or screws?

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

helpimcrap

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
12,751
Location
Leicestershire
I'm kinda new school in that i abosolutely hate nails and hammers used for them as i think there is no need as if you cut and drill stuff so it fits together right there's no need to use nails. Also if i want to take it down/apart again and modify it i can't with nails as it will end in it's destruction 9/10.

My grandad uses nails and then folds ends over for example with a hammer hit. it works but i hate it.....

Anyone else feel like this? lol
 
after talking to a few people they can't see an issue with it and it's how it should be done for strength apparently when working with wood.... like putting roof on a shed etc.
 
helpimcrap said:
I'm kinda new school in that i abosolutely hate nails and hammers used for them as i think there is no need as if you cut and drill stuff so it fits together right there's no need to use nails. Also if i want to take it down/apart again and modify it i can't with nails as it will end in it's destruction 9/10.

My grandad uses nails and then folds ends over for example with a hammer hit. it works but i hate it.....

Anyone else feel like this? lol
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It all depends on the job being done.
 
i prefer to make things the right size and so it fits fine and then screw it to attach it.

Think it's the 'lego generation' v the 'caveman generation' lol.
 
Screws generally dont have any shear strength that's why stuff is built with nails. Except for some expensive specialist screws.
 
This thread is wierd, let me try to translate the above retardness - screws are stronger than nails because they have a threaded shaft (shaft! s******) which makes it harder to prize off. In a lot of woodwork nails are usualy used in conjunction with glue to add more strength.
 
at school some 15 years ago we were taught to never use hammers or screws unless it was a job that required it.

wood work should fit together like a puzzle and be glued for strength, all a nail or screw does is weaken the wood.

i guess it depends what type of wood your working with though hardwook like oak i imagine doesnt get weakened by a few nails
 
Oggie said:
You sound like you think screws are some kind of new invention.
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Nope - i've just got everyone trying to convince me that nails are better and i've never built a shed in my life so just playing it by ear but i'm convinced screws beat a hammer and nails if built connectly. things like tacking felt on the roof will be nails but i don't like the idea of putting holes in felt as that just makes somewhere for it to leak in my eyes...
 
Well, it all depends on the job. Screws are far more expensive, so nails will be used where possible to save money by people in various trades.

Lots of jobs call for the use of nails, especially finishing work like architraves and cladding as you don't want to see the fixings. You use ovals or pins and pop them below the surface to be filled.

helpimcrap said:
Nope - i've just got everyone trying to convince me that nails are better and i've never built a shed in my life so just playing it by ear but i'm convinced screws beat a hammer and nails if built connectly. things like tacking felt on the roof will be nails but i don't like the idea of putting holes in felt as that just makes somewhere for it to leak in my eyes...
Click to expand...

All sheds will be put together with nails. They use powerful nail guns with zinc plated annular ring nails.

I personally would use screws to put the panels together and screw it to the floor etc. They sent a big bag of 4" nails with the shed I put together a few weeks back but I used some 4" screws instead.
 
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As Swordfish says it would depend on the job being done, sometimes nails are appropriate - try screwing in roofing tiles and see why it's not done normally. At other times screws are the right things to use.
 
Screws for a shed are iffy unless you go stainless steel.

Ive seen a few sheds put up with screws which is a real pain when 10 years later you want to do some serious maintenance as by then chances are the heads have rusted badly and you have a world of pain getting the blighters out.
Getting nails out isnt always easy either mind, but decent stainless screws arent that expensive and are the best of the bunch for sheds.
 
Well I do a lot of DIY, and depending on what i'm doing will use screws or nails. Built a summer house for my friend, and the majority of it was screws, main beams were coach screws, and all the finishing panels were nailed on.

There isn't a right and wrong way to do it, just a right and wrong way on choosing the materials. I know a lad who used a 4"x12 screw to screw a bit of 1x1 onto a joist and he couldn't understand why it kept splitting it.

Now my big annoyance is with contractors using no more nails to fasten everything, or so it seems where i've been working, to anything else.

And a nailgun is miles better than a hammer, no more sore thumbs!! :)
 
Screws, screws are FAR better for the majority of jobs, or at least the ones that require strength or if you need to take anything apart at a later date. People saying you cant screw roofing tiles? what? Of course you can, and you do the majority of times, unless your doing a slate roof then you use copper nails. Same as when youre plaster boarding, always use screws as the nail heads will pop. Screws are far far better. And as quick. I work in construction and have for over 10 years, the only real majority of times we use nails is when lathing a roof or putting a roof on, a lot of the times its screws. Architrave, finished floor etc pins and secret nailing would be used yes, as thats finish work where you dont want to see fixings.

Certain jobs, that require nails, like stoothing walls, the use of a nail gun is handy, as they're generally galvanised. But even then we a lot of the time use screws for that in case anything needs altering later.
 
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I have never seen a roof with the roof tiles screwed rather than nailed. Even new build houses have nails in the tiles. You could do it quite easilly, but not many people do. Probably due to cost and the fact a hammer is easier to carry about up a roof than a battery driver.
 
Always screwed if you're doing it properly. All nailing does is create bouncing and ceilings to crack, so if you can minimise that the better, especially if the loft area is a room if say doing a re roofing job. Not saying a lot don't nail them, but screws are far better for it.
 
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