nailing the deck

[dzcook]

well got the frame in for the deck but now struck a problem with the nailing bought a gmc framing nail gun a while back has been ok had intended to nail deck with it but now cant seem to get any gal screw nails to fit gun as is pine been told to nail by hand just as easy but any suggestions about nail gun would be good told normal gun nails no good as would come lose
anyway any ideas would be good

[OBBob]

It would be unusual to find a framing gun used for deck nailing. Generally there are failry specific guns for that purpose. The framing gun will probably try to put the nails right through the boards and will surely cause problems near the ends. How much area is there? Pine decking is pretty easy to nail.

Maybe hire the correct gun for the job for a day?

[Bleedin Thumb]

Hi dzcook.
Sooo tempting to use that gun aint it? but even with hardwood you are best to nail it by hand (or screw)
Use titadeck gal and leave the rounded heads proud of the timber- looks like little studs ie dont counter sink them as you want the nail head to prevent water entering the hole you just made with that nail.
as the nails studs are now somewhat of a feature (use two per joist crossing) its important to create very straight lines when nailing - use a straight edge or string line.
Are you going to put some poly membrane strips over your joists before you place the decking? highly recommended.

[silentC]

If you want to use a gun, you'll need a coil nailer. Better off just doing it by hand.

[woodsprite]

And IF you do it by hand, I would suggest you drill holes first - some timbers will split eventually at the nails - of if you don;t want to drill, blunt the nail point by hitting with your hammer - this can greatly reduce the chance of splitting timber.
I know, sounds like the pain in the bum that it is, but when you are finished you will be glad you did it this way, and once you get into the swing of it, it doesn't seem like such a huge job after all. Stick your MP3 player in your shirt, plug your buds in, and have a pleasant time of it!
Jeff

[JDub]

Yep, just handnail it, if you are using pine decking its pretty easy going, took me a full day to nail down the board to the large extension to my deck but wasnt really hard work just, time consuming, beats painting or digging holes ;) ,
use the 65mm twist shank/titadeck nails, you should only need to predrill the ends of the boards.

[Gumby]

I agree with the hand nail or coil nail method too. However, when we were joining 2 boards on a joist, we used a framing gun near the end of each board. We used a coil nailer for the rest. the only problem is the varying depth to which it sinks the nails. Some sit nicely on top while others went in a fair way.

[freebs]

I do decks, it's really all I do. I'm a carpenter but my brother in law is a landscaper, so we sorta teamed up and do 'outdoor structures'. Everything and anything related to construction in the great outdoors. I reckon the best nail going into Treated Pine is actually a gun nail(coil gun) but nailed by hand for the finish it gives. I use the stainless steel dome head 'ring' nails and nail them by hand. The finish is second to none, the heads aren't smashed into the surface of the deck and because they are stainless steel they'll still be there when I'm pushin up daisies. Also the 'rings' on the shank of the nail hold the softwood much better than the twists. So I have found anyway.