Nailing Vs Stapling Roof Shingles

When the first strong wind blows half of the shingles off it makes life sooo much easier for the next person.

Nailing vs stapling roof shingles.

They don t have to. 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. I ve had nothing but problems with our roof because of them. There is a right way and a wrong way to nail a shingle to a roof.

They rust they back out they don t hold and they put two holes through the roof shingle whereas a nail only one. Some shingles after roof traffic will cut through the upper shingle leaving an exposed nail head. For one staples cost less than nails adding to their profit per roof. Make no mistake we are in business to make money.

We are talking nails hand or gun. As with nails overdriven staples break the surface of the shingle which weakens their holding power. Proper stapling also means keeping the staple crowns horizontal or level. A hand nailer can tell better if a nail is high and will give it another hit.

Ideal nail placement on roof shingles is limited to a very small area. 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. Research on use of staples vs nails in asphalt shingle roofs. Au contraire pgriz but staples do have an advantage over nails.

The roofing nail sketch of common roof shingle nailing errors shown here is a detail from fema s asphalt shingle roofing for high wind regions 2. 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 are not recommended by hodges roofing and most industry organizations.

This sketch points out that mis driven nails can also lead to shingle wind damage live link given below. Staples should be totally banned from the roofing industry. Under pressured tools leave the nails high causing the shingle above to be lifted and suspect to wind blow offs. Staples are the method used years ago that gave machine roofing a bad name.

Staples also offered excellent holding strength and could be installed over a larger roof area quickly. Shingles are designed to be nailed in specific locations and the nail must be driven to a certain depth. In the past roofers preferred staple guns for attaching shingles to roof sheeting. Also the roofer fires off more than needed into the shingle.

If the nail is driven outside that area it could impair the roof and void the manufacturer s warranty.