WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[Gary S]

Nails and screws are relatively easy to pull once you get a grip on them, with nails more-or-less being removed from the hole created by their installation and screws removing the material immediately around them. If you're installing a ringed flooring nail with a hammer, and for some reason (hit a water pipe ) have to remove the partially-driven nail, chances are it will either also remove the wood around the rings, much as a screw would, or the head will break off.

I agreethat the ring shanked nails are very good. Perhaps they would provide the highest strength factor. As for pulling the screws out, I'll have to check that. Not sure it would be quite so easy!

Most building codes have regulations governing lumber specifications (permitted spans, loads, live load limits, etc.) and also nailing "schedules" which specify how many of what type, size, and length of fastener are to be used for each particular application.

Would the codes contain info on using screws for framing? Probably not. Would that be just because it is not a standard method, so nobody ever did any tests?

A lot also depends on the metallurgical properties of the fastener, especially for screws - I've bought screws that were of such poor quality (one big guess where they were made) that the heads snapped off as the screw was being driven, or the material was so soft that the socket was mangled by the driver bit, even though the fit between the two was excellent. I've also had many instances where the screw will bend while being driven.

Or is the variable quality of the screws that is at issue with the building codes?