Nail gun to fix skirting to masonry

[Rudhamstile]

Hi. I have a beast of a DeWalt First Fix Nailer that Id like to use to fix mdf skirtings to plastered masonry walls. Ive tried standard collated nails without much success and I note there's not much in the way of masonry nails other than some sold by Axminster Tools but not sure if they'd fit. Surely Im not the only one who wants to do this?

 

[big-all]

they are 13 gauge nails what gauge is yours

 

[kp00110]

Why not use sticks like ****

 

[Notch7]

Hi. I have a beast of a DeWalt First Fix Nailer that Id like to use to fix mdf skirtings to plastered masonry walls. Ive tried standard collated nails without much success and I note there's not much in the way of masonry nails other than some sold by Axminster Tools but not sure if they'd fit. Surely Im not the only one who wants to do this?

What’s the masonry?

cinder blocks, concrete blocks etc can be very hard


Ive certainly seen paslode used to do it, but not sure of the nail / guage used


a first fix nailer sounds like a 15g nailer

 

[Rudhamstile]

Thanks for the replies. Yes they are a hard cinder block masonry, if it was Thermalite etc that would be fine Im sure. Also had this reply below from a specialist nail firm. Ive just got bored with screws/plugs and adhesives and propping them to the wall to close the odd gap.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ive certainly seen paslode used to do it, but not sure of the nail / guage used

First fix (clipped head) nailers, which have a nail thickness somewhere in the area of 2.9 to 3.3mm can fix into Thermalite blockwork (ideally skewed left and right to "stitch" the timber to the wall, but aren't able to fix into anything much harder. TBH that isn't what they are designed to do and trying to use one that way will result in bent nails, nail jams and sooner or later a broken driver pin (£50 to £70 on many guns)

a first fix nailer sounds like a 15g nailer

Surely a 16 gauge or 18 gauge? 15 gauge guns aren't very common in the UK and it can be a devil of a job to source appropriate nails for them here, from experience

I think the Axminster nails the OP was referring to are hardened T nails. They are available for a specific type of pneumatic gun called a T-nailer, but that is all they will fit. The nearest equivalent in a gas nailer would be a concrete nailer such as the Spit P800 or Hilti GX120 both of which can be used to fix (damp) timber batten to solid concrete, heavy concrete brick or even steel beams - although they are probably too powerful to fix skirtings to walls

OP - if you want to fix skirtings to walls the simplest way is to use a grip adhesive (e.g. a polymer bonding) or a low expansion foam with a few second fix pins to hold the skirting in place whilst the glue/foam sets. Failing a 2nd fix gun, just use masonry nails and a hammer, or hold the skirting in place with go bars or weights until the glue sets

 

[Notch7]

Surely a 16 gauge or 18 gauge? 15 gauge guns aren't very common in the UK and it can be a devil of a job to source appropriate nails for them here, from experience

I’m sure you are right, I was guessing from memory….

TBH that isn't what they are designed to do and trying to use one that way will result in bent nails, nail jams and sooner or later a broken driver pin (£50 to £70 on many guns

I used a mates paslode finish nailer to fix some panel bead to a plastered wall - seemed to work fine.

I did some with an 18g air brad gun, it didn’t like it at all

There seems to be a bit of a fashion trend putting up panel beading on a plaster wall - to form a square and rectangle design say behind a bed, and it needs something to clip it in place whilst the glue sets

 

[Deleted member 174758]

There seems to be a bit of a fashion trend putting up panel beading on a plaster wall - to form a square and rectangle design say behind a bed, and it needs something to clip it in place whilst the glue sets

Even an 18 ga 2nd fix gun should be able to do that - even better if you can use low expansion foam as opposed to a grip adhesive to do the job as foam goes off pretty quickly and holds well

 

[mrrusty]

Unless either the skirting or wall is so twisted it all needs pulling in, just use foam or grip as @JobAndKnock suggests. Why wouldn't you?

 

[^woody^]

How many nails are we talking about? The thread is nearly a week old, how long does it take to hammer in some skirting nails - 30 minutes a room? Less?