Nailing Vs Stapling Roof Shingles

Au contraire pgriz but staples do have an advantage over nails.

Nailing vs stapling roof shingles.

Make no mistake we are in business to make money. In the past roofers preferred staple guns for attaching shingles to roof sheeting. Also the roofer fires off more than needed into the shingle. They rust they back out they don t hold and they put two holes through the roof shingle whereas a nail only one.

Staples for shingle applications are staples recommended as fasteners for asphalt shingles. As with nails overdriven staples break the surface of the shingle which weakens their holding power. We are talking nails hand or gun. I ve had nothing but problems with our roof because of them.

Some shingles after roof traffic will cut through the upper shingle leaving an exposed nail head. Ideal nail placement on roof shingles is limited to a very small area. For one staples cost less than nails adding to their profit per roof. Staples are not recommended by hodges roofing and most industry organizations.

Staples do not hold as well as nails they have less area to hold the shingle and many times are not set right and cut the shingles. Proper stapling also means keeping the staple crowns horizontal or level. This sketch points out that mis driven nails can also lead to shingle wind damage live link given below. When the first strong wind blows half of the shingles off it makes life sooo much easier for the next person.

There is a right way and a wrong way to nail a shingle to a roof. Research on use of staples vs nails in asphalt shingle roofs. Under pressured tools leave the nails high causing the shingle above to be lifted and suspect to wind blow offs. A hand nailer can tell better if a nail is high and will give it another hit.

Staples also offered excellent holding strength and could be installed over a larger roof area quickly. I assume if your distributor is demoing staples they must be legal in your area though. The farther off horizontal the staple is driven the closer together the staple points are and the less wood is captured between the points. Staples made of at least 16 gauge galvanized steel with a minimum crown of 15 16 have been and continue to be used by some applicators to install shingles.

Staples should be totally banned from the roofing industry. Staples are the method used years ago that gave machine roofing a bad name. At the end of the day the placement of each nail will determine the durability of your shingles. The importance of nail placement.

They don t have to.