Cheap Fixes are Costly

When I first came to southern California there was a thing called short nailing. It was a method used to under-nail a project. Straps would be cut and restarted on the other side of the wall to make it appear that they went through an area. These methods fooled inspectors but when the problems came which they did come in time they were hard and expensive fixes. I was hired for a project to go through the development and pick up all the second stories of the houses and replace two barring beams and then tie them in. I only picked them up enough to get the beams out and the new correct ones in. The strapping, which should have made this difficult was short-nailed and the beams became evidence. It puzzles me when people act as though there isn’t enough time to do the job right but then find the time to do the job over.

The plans will have a nailing schedule for the task you’re on but many do-it-yourselfers don’t bother with plans. This is not wise. Blue prints do cost but the cost the architect charges is usually a big saving over the course of the project, and the time they will save you solving problems and getting things through the inspection or governing agencies planning department is worth the fees the architect charges. Still many people will not hire one so I will give a quick rule of thumb on nailing. First off the nail should be 2&1/2 to 3 time thicker than the material that is being nailed to another member.

Example: Nailing down a 7/8” deck sheeting requires a nail that is 2&1/2 to 3 inches long.

Now we know the length to use how many nails should it take.

2 x4 into @ b materials require 2 16D sinkers, galvanized if exposed to weather.

Headers require 5 16D minimum,

2 X6s require 3 16d and they should be galvanized if exposed.

Sheeting is usually nail with the nails 6 inches apart around the border of the sheeting and 12 apart in the middle or body of the sheet when ever it overlaps a stud or 2 x member.

Today there are metal straps which also help tie the framing members together. They do take a bit longer to install. They can add a bit of cost to your project. It can be time consuming to install the strapping. But do you want to get the project done or do you wish to build the best project possible. Simpson makes many hangers, straps and hardware pieces to make the project stronger and able to stand many outside forces. I believe most would agree that the cost of proper nailing and strapping is much cheaper than the cost of correcting or the loss of life due to improper nailing and strapping.

I am told if the insurance companies can determine that the project was professionally built, they don’t always pay out and we have no way of knowing when tragedy’s hit. The belief that there isn’t time or money enough to do it right is more costly and time consuming because it demands that before the lifespan of the project has come doing so demands that it is done over. Cheap fixes are costly.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.