I have to rebuild my fence and am putting up cedar planks.

My current fence was put up with a nail gun.

Would a roofing nail gun work, with galvanized nails?

How bout an air stapler, with 2" staples?

What do y'all think??

And I'm not going to use screws.

pick up a decent on that shoots at least 2" nails or rent one from hd. do use staples, if you find one that shoots ring shank even better

I bought a Dewalt framing gun about 8 months ago for a fence project (1100 feet X 4 rail for horses). I used 3 in. ring shank. That's overkill for fence boards, but was exactly what I needed for the barn and pergola we built afterward. Framing guns are about $100 cheaper than a deck gun. The deck gun with the coiled nails would be ideal, but is insufficient for framing the 2 by stock for supports whereas the framing gun can be used for the fence boards though more than is necessary and you save $100.

I do want a deck gun now that I have a framing gun, but if I had to choose one, I'd get the framing gun first.

You will love it. By far the best tool investment I've made. Toss up between the circle saw and compound miter saw for second place.

I love the OB, but we really need a dedicated Home Improvement Forum

Staples do not have the holding power.

Generally the runners are put up with a framing gun while the pickets are put up with a siding coil nailer.

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And I'm not going to use screws.

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So, you like doing things twice?

I'll never use nails in a fence or deck again.

Use screws.

If you are going to use nails, use the ss ones. The galvanized nails will eventually leave those ugy rust streak marks that propagate downward from the nailhead.

I always use screws

If you use ACQ treated runners/posts you have to use at a minimum Hot dip galv fasteners.

Research..... ACQ

Gonna have to say screws, as well.

Had pretty good luck using square-drive screws in Mom and Dad's 1000-sqft deck. This, of course, was AFTER 15 years of tripping on - and hammering down - ring-shanked nails that worked their way out with every rain's expansion and sun's contraction of the wood. (Also replaced the decking with Trex, but that's another story.)

Use the epoxy coated screws and a good cordless drill. Buy once, cry once. Nails suk on fences.

It's just a privacy fence, not a hurricane shelter. Screws are for decks, and things that will be load bearing. Kind of a waste of time and money to use them to attach pickets to a fence, if you ask me. Ring shank nails will attach fence pickets quite adequately and permanently.

I went with galvanized ring shank on the fence I just built myself, in segments over the last few months, around my backyard. 6D ring shank seat deep in the framing boards, and the wood picket rips or breaks before the nail comes out, which is all you can ask of an attachment method. Pickets, when they try to warp from the heat and moisture content changes, aren't thick enough to exhert enoough force to work nails lose, if properly nailed. I hand nailed every single nail, 4 per picket. Took longer, but I considered it a good workout.

Screws are overkill, in my opinion.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 8/3/2009 10:33a).]

Coil Gun with ring shank nails

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Coil Gun with ring shank nails

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I just built a privacy fence and used this with two inch ring shank nails.

I've built several fences with nails that have close to 10 years and a hurricane under their belt... so I'd say that nails are sufficient.

Don't use whatever the guys who built my used... I have been renailing boards for a year now...

And the corner was just nailed to the post, not screwed... jackholes.

Didn't even think about using shorter nails with a framing gun.

I have a framing gun already. I went to Lowes and picked up some 2" galvanized ring shank nails.

Probably a little bit heavier than a coil nail gun, but I should be good to go.