| Author | Message | ||
     Reepicheep  |
I am refinishing the basement, and boxing in some ducting. In my ham handed attempts at toe-nailing, I am finding it MUCH easier to pre-drill the toe nail holes for nailing them into rafters. I drill them about the same size as the nail, press the nails through, and have them all pre-assembled so I can just put line them up and whack them down with no fussing with 3rd and fourth hands. Does this compromise the strength of the joint? I would think not, as the nail is completely anchored in the target rafter, and the head holds the drilled stud in place. But I have been wrong about this sort of stuff before. Just wondering. I can slap in some screws or additional nails before the drywall goes up if necessary. Thanks! | ||
| Rek  |
Reep, It sounds as if you're pre-drilling a non-structural component and I doubt it would comprimise the integrity in the least. Just my opinion though.... Rob | ||
| Gentleman_jon  |
Probably won't make much difference in this application. However, typically, the structural integrity of a nailed joint depends on the compression of the wood around the shaft of the nail, that is why there are often ridges on the shaft under the head of the nail. In this application, even though it isn't structural in the sense of holding up the house, the taped joints of sheetrock are very sensitive to movement, so I think one would want as rigid a joint as is practicable. Drilling out the toe nail holes could make the joint a bit looser over time as the wood tends to shrink away from the nail shaft. I am afraid that without know more about the actual details of construction I really can't be more helpful. | ||
| Outrider  |
Reep...If your only problem is splitting the wood when toe nailing, dull the points of your nails with a few taps of the hammer. Was a tip I got from my installations crews and it really works. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks everyone, thats what I needed to know. | ||
| Leftcoastal  |
REEP - do you have any room between the box and the duct to add a nailer? If it's a square or rectangular duct it would mean buildina a larger box, but in the case of a round duct you; should be able to run a nailer strip along each sidt of the duct and fasten the box to that. What Jon said above is dead-on and you could develop cracks in the joint later. An alternative to a wood nailer is to use a sheet metal angle and use screws to attach to rafters and box. Hope that helps AL | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks Left, and all. I ended up using the pre drilled toe nails to hold things in place (they hang from the rafters and are very awkward to keep the right length and plumb) while I square everything up. I then made another pass dropping in long screws to anchor it. I did a chin up on each support last night and there was no play whatsoever, and I am getting to be a pretty fat fellow these days, so it should hold up fine. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Sounds like you've got it "nailed" so to speak. Should be fine! Ride to eat, eat to ride. AL |
