The rule of thumb with nails.
How long roofing nails should i use.
Nails that are longer than six inches are called pikes and they are seldom used on roofs.
The number of nails needed for a roof varies on multiple factors such as board face width length and roof truss spacing.
Boards used for sheathing range from those with a 4 inch face to 48 inch long plywood sheets.
The one to two inch roofing nails are suitable for most types of roof shingles.
The most commonly used roofing nails range from one to two inches in length.
When installing asphalt shingles on felt only to any grade decking you should use 1 inch long roofing nails.
A structure s roof truss spacing can vary from every 12 to 24 inches.
Wood shakes minimum 3 4 sheathing wood shakes nail type minimum length 18 straight split 5d box 1 3 4 18 and 24 handsplit and resawn 6d box 2.
2 points if you get the pun.
If you need bigger nails including pikes you may need to place a special order at the hardware store.
We have to use 30 mm long nails if we are installing thicker shingles like the laminated shingles cambridge xpress or cambridge xtreme 9 5.
Is that you should choose a nail that is three times as long as the thickness of the material you are fastening.