What to Look for in a Pro Roofing Nailer – Pro Tool Reviews (blog)

Its a safe bet that most nails driven on a construction site today werent put there by a hammer. Framing and Roofing nailers have made the job faster and easier so its no surprise they get put in the game while hammers ride the bench, at least for the bulk of the work. Whereas framing nailers are used to drive longer, smaller-headed nails from a collated stick to fasten lumber, roofing nailers are used to drive shorter, larger-headed nails from a collated coil to fasten shingles, house wraps, and siding. Theres not a huge amount of variability among nailers, but there are some features that might lead you to choose one over another. Heres what to look for in a Pro roofing nailer.

Talk to Pros and they will tell you that weight is the most important consideration when choosing a roofing nailer. Securing shingles and siding is anall day or multiple day job. If the tool is heavy, the work is brutal. Its not only the tool weight, but the user also needs to pick up and hold heavy materials in place for nailing, which adds to the fatigue of the job.

Coil roofing nailers have a large fastener capacity than other nailer types, but thats a double-edged sword: work doesnt have to stop to reload nearly as often as with a stick or framing nailer, but that means the nailer will be heavier, especially at the beginning of the coil. Therefore, the nailer itself needs to be as light as possible. As long as the nailer is acceptably light and drives nails with few (if any) jams, then the other features are secondary. Yet those featurescan make the job easier or a lack of them harder, so lets take a look.

Besides being light overall, a nailer should be well-balanced from head through handle.

Having a tool in hand all day necessitates a comfortable grip. There are many fine overmold grips but we are particular fans of Ridgids Hex Grip.

Is the fastener depth easy to read and change?

This feature prevents the nailer from firing when it doesnt have a nail to drive. Many manufacturers include this feature because it avoids unnecessary wear and callbacks if, for some reason, the user didnt realize he wasnt actually driving nails.

All nailers have a single action mode where one nail is driven for each trigger pull, but some also have a bump fire mode that allows a nail to be driven each time the nailers nose is depressed as long as the trigger remains pulled. Bump fire can make work much faster, but a slight danger lurks in the increased speed: if the nailer recoils and then fires, its possible to shoot a nail through the air instead of into material.

Roofing nailers accommodate a range of nail lengths, and the nail basket/magazine should move easily up and down.

A roofer willdrive hundreds of nails per day with a roofing nailer. The repetitive force of the trigger pull can add up to fatigue and pain over time. This is especially true in single action firing mode. Its important that the trigger pull force is light. For bump fire, youre holding the trigger down so a high spring tension will also work against you.

The nailer should seldom jam when it is properly maintained. When it does, the jam release latch should open easily to clear the jam and get back to work. Tool-free options are definitely the way to go.

Many nailers have an adjustable exhaust vent that deflects the burst of air that accompanies a drive. Otherwise, the repetitive burst might become annoying to the user.

A majority of roofing nailers are pneumatic but a few have lithium-ion batteries with gas canisters for cordless/hoseless operation. The trade-off for cordless operation often is a heavier nailer and a bit more expense. However,these are helpful for smaller jobs or punch list work where dragging out the compressor and hoses is inefficient.

A small convenience on pneumatic nailers is a swivel air connection which allows easier hose movement.

Roofing nailers feature a shingle guide that acts as a jig to ensure each shingle is in the right place for nailing.

Youre going to needto oil a coil nailer quite often at least once a day. Refer to the manufacturers instructions for proper maintenance.

Now that you know what to look for in a Pro roofing nailer, check out a couple of our most recent reviews and our tips on how to use one like a Pro!

We hope this guide has helped you know what to look for in a Pro roofing nailer. If youre a Pro and you have tips about choosing a roofing nailer, add themin the comments beloworhit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

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What to Look for in a Pro Roofing Nailer - Pro Tool Reviews (blog)