On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:22:17 -0700 (PDT), stan
wrote:



Nobody using galvanised nails these days?????????

My fence was made, 30 years ago, with galvanized nails, and I still
use them when I replace pickets.

But this fence I'm disassembling was made with thinner nails, thinner
than the refill of a cheap ballpoint pen, but with spiral flutes (what
do you call that?) So the nail turns when nailed in, but is much
harder to get out. I removed quite a few nails without damaging
them, so I'm going to try them, and if I like them I'll try to buy
some.

Have you ever seen such nails for sale. What are they called???


BTW, I can't find new pickets for sale -- I asked about that here once
and tried your suggestions, but no joy. I've tried the internet, and
shopped for pickets when visiting my brother in Dallas - but I found a
guy replacing his fence, and he's selling me all the used pickets I
want for 10 cents a piece. He has maybe 1000 but I only want 120 to
200 (plus the 80 new pickets I still have.) Actually, I've only seen
him once. He's replacing the fence himself and he puts 2 sections of
fence outside of his fence, facing the unsold home my good friend used
to live in, and I go there and take apart the sections and clean up,
so I'm saving him work. So far I owe him about $12.00 for 120
pickets. I think there are 33 to a section but 3 or 4 will be clearly
bad, probably break while I'm taking them off. Almost all the rest
look fine. I also have untreated pickets that are still fine after
30 years, if they get enough sun during the day.

(And if I trimmed the bottoms off so termites don't get in from the
bottom. An exterminator's wife explained this to me. I went to their
house to hire him, and while she held the baby, she said you don't
want to use these terrible poisons if you don't have to. Just cut off
the bottom of the pickets an inch or two above the grass, so that even
when the grass needs mowing, the termites won't get in, and you won't
neeed poison. Termites don't like to come out in the light, and they
have short legs so they can't jump. So if they can't step on the
picket from a blade of grass, they won't go.)

Had to change some PT 2 by 8 deck-boards on our deck recently due to
water drips causing limited rot and used screws for the new boards.

BTW, my 6x12 deck was also 30 years old and needed replacing for two
years or more. When I wwnt to do it earlier this summer, the first 4
feet + pulled off by hand, but the part under my 2 foot overhang were
still nailed in well, and the 2x6's weren't rotting that far back.

In other words, even though both parts of the deck were outside, the
part that got rained on more really aged a lot faster. Maybe that
shouldnt' surprise me but it did.


So I just put posts in closer to the house, cut off 4.5 feet, put on a
new fascia board and now I have a work bench instead of a deck. I
never used the deck anyhow, and now I have more lawn, in my little
townhouse lot. (6780 sq. ft. counting where the house is.)

But the 25+ year old 3 inch and 4 inch hot galvanised nails were
holding well and not rusted; even in this maritime climate.
So nail away. As my late father in law, who had worked building US
bases in Newfoundland, Labrador and Greenland used to
say .................. "I want to see at least two or three nails in
each match (T&G) board"!
The T&G felt and tarred roof on his own still standing house must be
over 100 years old now!

Cool. Build it right and it lasts a long time (Sometimes build it
wrong and it lasts a long time, too. but longer if you do it right. )