On Sat, 05 Jun 2010 10:48:16 +0100, Jon Fairbairn
wrote:

Matty F writes:

In a recent programme of "Grand Designs" it was stated that UK
builders building new houses tend to use hammers to drive in nails
rather than use nail guns.
Is this true at all?

I don't know about new build, but all the council owned houses
round the corner from me were re-roofed recently, and there were
definitely nail guns in use then.


A housing association has recently completed a three-storey block of
flats within sight and earshot of my house, and for several months,
all I could hear at my desk (I work from home) was the sound of nails
being hammered in by hand. I watched them erect the roof trusses, and
all the major work was done with hand driven nails. However the
purlins were fixed very rapidly with a nail gun.

If you ever watch the Canadian TV programme "Holmes on Homes" it is
quite a stark contrast to the UK building trade because of the sheer
number of specialist tools used where we seem to use older and more
primitive methods. I suspect Matty F's New Zealand more closely
replicates the Canadian approach.