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nails guns and decking

15K views 33 replies 16 participants last post by  caliroofer 
I started using a nail gun 18 years ago, hand nailed for 20 years before that, like Ed and Grumpy said, the only difference is the quality of the roofer. It's rare anyone asks about hand nailing, sometimes on exposed soffet I'll ask if they want me to hand nail using 3/4 inch nails to keep the exposed nails to a minimum, they like the fact that I asked them.
 
Right on Grumpy, Oh but those short nails are hard on these older fingers. They seemed to have grown in size since I started roofing, they are no longer thinner than a 3/4 inch nail.
 
The best I could do by myself was six square an hour. But, I stocked the roof out ahead of me then timed, just picked, slid into place across the gauge and nailed, I could do a square in nine minutes.
Now I can still do a square in 20 minutes, but I'm 61, not quite as fast as I usetawas. The timne trials I did on myself was always in the morning when ths shingles was nice and cool, stocking them out broke them apart so there were no stickers.
The guy who taught me 38 years ago was the fastest I ever saw with a hammer, he could do five an hour, my best with a hammer was three an hour. Started using a NAIL gun 20 years ago, had carpel tunnel from a hammer, a year later I no longer had carpel tunnel, the nail gun was a good change for me.
 
rbr, I still use the guage on the gun, most guys just use the laminations or as you do, snap lines. I snap two lines per face, starter and first course, if I have any dormers I will snap a line above the ridge of the dormers to check myself. For valleys I run the small side first, snap a line two inches above the valley then precut the cut side, that way I don't have to worry about rising or dropping in the valley, they stay level as long as you follow the line and the guage.
Outlaw, As for straight courses, I have plenty of pictures if you are interested.
 
I can't get on a roof anymore because my knees, feet and ankles have finally said "enough". I was 61 when I did my last roof, I could still nail off four (4) square an hour, notice I said nail off. Depending on the projected temperature for the day I would run my starters and rakes, then lay out ahead of me what I figured I could do before 11:am, we're usually close to 90 degrees by then in the summer, then nail it off.
Most of the work I did was by myself, I'm to picky for most guys who just want to "blow n' go". I was told several times that I could make more money if I would drop my standards, just couldn't bring myself to do that.
I could still nail off six square or better an hour, but when you add the stock time in there It came out to a comfortable 2 1/2 to three square per hour. Not to shabby for an old guy who enjoyed his work. Most of my best times were on five or six twelve roofs.
Working by myself I learned how to do a lot of things to improve my time on a roof to increase my out put, espiecialy on the steeper roofs. I developed systems that improved safety and performance on steep roofs, the less you have to move around on a steep roof to get your shingles, the less your chances are for getting hurt. Placing your shingles where you need them allows quicker dispersement, only making the moves needed to do your work quickly, safer. The last steep roof I did by myself was a 21/12, that was done eight months after a shoulder replacement that went bad, so I was practically roofing that barn with one arm. It was a 21/12 sides and 7/12 top, it was in the dead of winter, Janurary, two snow storms, but nice afternoon temps allowed me to work. I got it done in four weeks, maybe not good time by most of the standards some of you guys on here have, but I thought it was pretty good, the systems I developed helped me out big time.
 
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