Make or Buy?

[RFGuy]

For overhead work I myself wouldn't use a nailgun. First, because I would need to put that nail right exactly at the root of the tongue every time, and my aim is not that good. Second, I do have an air nailer and for overhead work it would get heavy. Especially dragging an air hose along while up on a ladder. Third, once the nail is in that's it - no adjustment possible. With a predrilled screw I know right where it will go and I can back it off if needed (which I often did during this job, to fine-tune the board fit). I used a little lightweight battery-powered screwgun for the whole job and it did great.

I think if I had had a perfect flat mounting surface maybe nailing would have worked, but the surface I had posed problems, even after laser leveling, and I still had to shim in places. The adjustability of the screws came in very handy for me.

For well-prepared floor work yes I might use an air nailer.

Steve,

Not trying to talk you into it, but I don't know if you have more of this work on the property or not to consider this for, so here goes. Using screws for this application is fantastic, but also time intensive. There are electric nail guns and a good finish nailer in electric is in the 6-7lbs range. Not light, but also not that heavy. Keep in mind it is one quick operation of lifting it in place and shooting, versus holding a nail in place with one hand and swinging a 1.5-2lbs hammer in the other hand all while maintaining balance on a ladder and over your head. On finish nailer guns they typically have a small boot where the nail shoots out of and it should be relatively easy to line it up right at the start of the tongue on the beadboard. Yes, you would have to work on getting the angle right, but it shouldn't be hard. I have done all of this on the ground for wood flooring installs. The bulk of the floor is nailed down using a special tool called a flooring nailer but you can't use it once you get close to the wall, so then you switch to a nail gun for at least another couple of rows before you switch to finally having to use a drill and hammer to install the last row typically. So, I have quite a bit of experience in doing this for T&G wood flooring but this is on the ground. Since you did yours all with screws I am just contemplating if the nails would hold up for suspending beadboard from a ceiling or not. Finish nails have decent holding strength, but no where near as strong as screws. Given the weight of the ceiling and the outdoor exposure with temp & humidity swings I would be concerned that nails might not hold up long term and start to slip...so again I am agreeing with your choice to use screws here and also thanks for posting about this project. Good work.

[SteveMaryland]

Something I did not mention about this job; I am "retired" and thus have "all the time in the world" to do things. Sometimes I forget that most people don't have the luxury of unlimited time, and for them labor saving methods are a necessity.

If I had to make a living doing porch ceilings the way I did mine, I would be out of business before I started. What with all the marking-out, cutting and pre-drilling and such, each and every piece in that ceiling cost me 4 - 5 round trips up and down the ladder-platform and over and back from the chop saw and drill. An unrealistic project approach for most working people.

I will note that the original (1927) T&G ceiling (the one I tore down) was put up with nails - the old-style big long cut nails. How those guys in 1927 sunk those nails without splitting everything is a mystery to me.

[jsburger]

Something I did not mention about this job; I am "retired" and thus have "all the time in the world" to do things. Sometimes I forget that most people don't have the luxury of unlimited time, and for them labor saving methods are a necessity.

If I had to make a living doing porch ceilings the way I did mine, I would be out of business before I started. What with all the marking-out, cutting and pre-drilling and such, each and every piece in that ceiling cost me 4 - 5 round trips up and down the ladder-platform and over and back from the chop saw and drill. An unrealistic project approach for most working people.

I will note that the original (1927) T&G ceiling (the one I tore down) was put up with nails - the old-style big long cut nails. How those guys in 1927 sunk those nails without splitting everything is a mystery to me.

My understanding is that cut nails are not only cut in the manufacturing process but the square end cuts the fibers of the wood when driven in. Unlike "modern" pointed nails that spread the wood fibers and cause splitting. Kind of like pre-drilling for screws.