# Cap nails



## workahallick (Sep 25, 2011)

I have a residential type asphalt shingle roof with frequent blowoffs.

It is about a 3 12 pitch about 10 years old.

I recently gave up on harassing the original installer to come back and replace the blow offs and I really studied the problem.

Originally I thought that the sealing strip was not doing it's job. I kept telling the installer to put an adhesive caulk under the leading edge of the tabs which he never would do.

Now I see the shingles are nailed above the sealing strip about 90% of the time. I have been replacing and re nailing the blow offs and all the good adjacent shingles below the sealing strip with two nails next to each tab in the center, 6 nails total. Plus I have been sticking down the new tabs and any adjoining loose tabs with Henry 209. Is that a mistake?

Sometimes the nails feel like they are going into nothing. I want to get some ring shank nails. The guy at the counter at the Roof Center looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for ring shank nails. All they have is the same made in Egypt crap like Lowe's and Home Depot.

Ring shank cap nails that would sure prevent the nails from pulling through the shingle but I don't like the way the washers are cupped. I am afraid the shingle on top won't lay flat.

There are cap nails called Jevcap Hurricane capnails that have a flat 30 ga tin washer under the head but they are 1 5/8" in diameter and about all I have is 1" between the end of the tab and the sealing strip.

Am I wrong in wanting to use cap nails on the shingles?

I don't understand why somebody dosen't make roofing nails with a bigger head. Seems like when I was a kid, the roofing nails had a much bigger head than they do now.

Work


----------



## tinner666 (Oct 28, 2008)

Specs on nearly every shingle call for nails to be 7/16" 'up' from the top of the slot (keyway). For Hurricane nailing, one on each side of the slot 7/16" up and about 1" to the side, and 1" from each end. Even 2" to the side of each slot is OK, IMHO.


----------



## tinner666 (Oct 28, 2008)

Oh, a dab or two about 3" to the side of each slot, about 1" up, of Geocel, or similar. Some caulks will eat the shingles.


----------



## tinner666 (Oct 28, 2008)

And I seem to have forgot to say, No cap nails.


----------



## workahallick (Sep 25, 2011)

I guess the capnails are a bad idea.

The largest head ring shank roof nails I can find are aluminum with a 7/16" head. Most are 3/8".

Does anybody make roof nails with a head bigger than 7/16"?


----------



## TFaulkner (Apr 26, 2011)

It sounds like you have a 3-tab roof in a very windy area. Or it was installed quite poorly. How many years old is your roof?

3-tab is known for blowing off after about 10 years. Maybe sooner depending on the wind.


----------



## workahallick (Sep 25, 2011)

It is about 8 years old.

I have determined that the problem is that the shingles were nailed at or above the sealing strip. Also they used a nail gun that set the nails too deep.

The tabs raise up in the wind, the nails pull through and the shingle blows off.

What I need to do is replace the missing ones, nail them and all the adjacent shingles correctly and seal down any tabs that are loose and raising up.








[/URL]


TFaulkner said:


> It sounds like you have a 3-tab roof in a very windy area. Or it was installed quite poorly. How many years old is your roof?
> 
> 3-tab is known for blowing off after about 10 years. Maybe sooner depending on the wind.


----------



## mindfield (Sep 30, 2011)

For what its worth, I wont typically shingle below a 4/12 pitch... a good flat roofing system may be your best solution...


----------

