Old timer named Bob told me to use roofing nails for fence boards, now I'm pulling all of them out

Back when I first moved here to Amarillo about 12 years ago, I was building a privacy fence for my backyard. An older guy named Bob who lived down the street came over and said just use roofing nails, they're cheap and will hold fine. Well, I did what he said. Now every single board is warped and popping off because those nails have no holding power. I'm having to redo the whole thing with deck screws this weekend. Live and learn I guess. Has anybody else gotten bad advice from a neighbor that cost you time and money?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_moore1mo ago

Figured out the hard way that nails and screws act totally different in Amarillo's dry climate. Those roofing nails don't have the grip to fight the wood expanding and contracting through the seasons.

christopherh791mo ago

Oh man, same thing happened to me with that Bob character. Some guys have been building fences since the 70s and they swear by what worked back then. Roofing nails are absolute garbage for anything structural. I used them on a shed build once and the whole thing started wobbling after one windy season down here. The shank is just too smooth, no grip at all. Plus they're too short to bite into the studs properly. Had to rip everything apart and start over with coated deck screws like you're doing. Learned my lesson about taking advice from guys who still think pressure treated lumber is a scam.

amy_craig281mo ago

Exactly 10 months after I put that shed together with roofing nails, the whole back wall was sagging about 2 inches off the foundation. @christopherh79 nailed it (no pun) about the smooth shank being the problem. Those things rely on friction and a little bit of coating, but once the wood dries out or gets damp again, nothing holds. Coated deck screws at least bite into the wood fibers like a real fastener should.