Nailing Sheathing On Roofs

There is a common misconception in the building industry that screws always outperform nails when attaching wood to wood.

Nailing sheathing on roofs.

Tighter nail spacing is recommended 4 inches on center maximum. Sheathing should be a minimum of 19 32 inch thick. 8d ring shank nails should be used instead. The typical thickness range for sheathing is 3 8 to 3 4 inch.

Nailing accuracy is crucial along this member. The problem exists because nail sizes and spacing used to attach the sheathing to the roof s structural members rafters or trusses do not provide enough strength to keep the sheathing on. Ventilate the roof according to current building codes. Properly fasten panels including fastening and spacing hints.

The connection between the roof sheathing and the structure is a vulnerable point that is known to fail during a hurricane. During a hurricane the strength of the sheathing on the roof can greatly impact the homes ability to weather the storm. Keep these tips in mind when roofing in hurricane areas. Never attach roof sheathing with staples.

A structure s roof truss spacing can vary from every 12 to 24 inches. Roof jacks provide safe platforms on sloped roofs. Can screws be used instead of nails for attaching wall sheathing to framing. The critical fasteners occur at the gable framing member not necessarily at the edge of the sheathing.

The number of nails needed for a roof varies on multiple factors such as board face width length and roof truss spacing. This video shows how some roofs fail under heavy winds in uplift situations. Boards used for sheathing range from those with a 4 inch face to 48 inch long plywood sheets. Although the heads are broad roofing nails are short their shank diameters are small and their heads pop off easily.

Starting with how to place the first row of sheathing we cover fastening methods the use of h clips stagg. They attach to the roof with nails but don t use roofing nails. The requirement became effective on october 1 2007. Method for maintaining a continuous load path at the roof ridge by nailing roof sheathing.

Follow these five simple construction steps for roof sheathing and scroll down to see more details on each with installation hints and tips below. Roof sheathing and the gable truss. Use 10d to 16d common nails and drive them through the roof sheathing and into the framing see the photo. When you replace a roof on a home that was built before the implementation of the statewide florida building code on march 1 2002 the nailing of the roof sheathing decking must be brought up to current standards for hurricane resistance as part of the installation of the new roof.

Check the nailing surface is level. We go in depth on how to install roof sheathing.