Fasteners in a frame house- enough simple theme, but it is important to think over everything in advance so as not to run to stores and not buy one kilogram of nails, but to immediately purchase 150 kilograms (usually it takes so much for an average house) of the necessary fasteners at the base at a big discount.
I did so, but it still wasn’t enough, I had already gone several times for new boxes of nails.
But of course, there are very few extra nails and self-tapping screws left. a large number of. Therefore, I want to make it as easy as possible for my readers.
I want to note right away that in a frame house forbidden use screws or self-tapping screws, since the load everywhere goes to the cut, and not to tension, and neither self-tapping screws nor screws work on the cut, so there is nothing to discuss here. Some builders are still sure that self-tapping screws can be used and will persuade you. Don't give in.
But great for cutting. nails work They are incredibly difficult to cut. We are talking, of course, about the bearing part of the house, and not about finishing.
And I want to say about corners. Corners are not used by professionals in frame construction(not counting the temporary attachment of trusses to the harness). use them can, only unprofitable in time and money, decide for yourself. Again, be wary of builders who will recommend their use.
Foundation fixture
For pile foundation the following fixture is used:
if you have screw foundation then you need anchor steel bolts.
if you have a bored foundation, then you need studs m10 and washers with M10 nuts (if you do it like me, pouring the studs in the fill) or anchor bolts
for concrete.
if you have slab foundation or tape, then you will need again anchor bolts for concrete.
Fasteners for the frame of a frame house
All boards in the frame box are pounded with ordinary building smooth nails diameters 3.1-3.5 mm and length 80-90mm(usually 90 mm if the board is 50 mm thick and 80 mm if the boards are 40 mm thick).
An exception may be the crate on the walls or floor, where it is better to use screw or ruff nails.
Fasteners for sheathing a frame house
Fasteners for floor covering.
60 mm nails- better ruffed or screw + glue (or self-tapping screws of the same length).
Such nails help to hold the floor firmly so that it does not creak and is not "alive".
Fasteners for wall cladding outside.
50 mm nails- better ruffled or screw.
This applies to both OSB-3 boards and plywood, as well as inches (which I will use for sheathing frame house I).
Fasteners for wall cladding from the inside.
If the lining from the inside is drywall, then you will need special self-tapping screws for drywall length 25 mm(rarely 35mm) length. Do not forget only about the correct tightening of the screws:
If you have a lining inside, then it can be fastened with nails 50-70 mm.
Metal tile fasteners
For the installation of metal tiles, special roofing is used. self-tapping screws dimensions dimensions 4.8x20 and 4.8x38 millimeters (metal-metal, metal-wood).
Window fasteners
There are several methods for fixing windows in a frame house.
- on anchor
- On plates
Accordingly, in each of the cases you will need the appropriate fasteners. I will tell you more about the installation of windows in due time, when I fix them myself.
Siding fasteners
Galvanized self-tapping screws With wide hat(not less than 8mm) long not less than 15 mm or galvanized nails with a wide hat (rarely) no less than 40 mm.
Fasteners for a wooden facade
Galvanized nails 50-70 mm(preferably galvanized, since zinc coating is done by electrolysis, and not by the usual "hot" method).
Terrace fixings
For the terrace, it is better to use self-tapping screws made of stainless or galvanized steel. There is a special fixture for terraces, but for the price it comes out as half a terrace.
It is also recommended to fasten the terrace boards to the hidden "snake" fasteners. 
In this video, you can look at almost every fastener visually in more detail:
So fasteners are very important element a frame house that you should pay close attention to if you don’t want it to fall apart over time or just burst at the seams. Do not give in to the persuasion of builders who want to build you a house using screws, self-tapping screws and other inappropriate things.
Read reviews from real residents frame houses on the forum or in my article and gain experience so that no one deceives you.
Over the past decade, screws and self-tapping screws have become so popular that we practically don’t remember about nails. At the same time, in the West, for the most part, only nails are used in frame construction. So which is better, nails or screws?
We did a little test to show one of the main disadvantages of screws, which many people forget about.
So that self-tapping screws or screws made of a metal alloy do not bend when screwing, they are hardened during the manufacturing process. After it, the metal becomes hard, but brittle. This is the main disadvantage of screws and self-tapping screws. But to be precise, only galvanized self-tapping screws (white, yellow) are hardened. Black self-tapping screws are usually made from oxidized C1022 steel, although this is also relatively brittle.
The nails are not hardened, so they hold heavy loads better. If the load is excessively increased, the nail will bend but not break, as opposed to screws or self-tapping screws. That is why they are still used in construction when assembling frames in areas with increased loads. Screws, often, are assigned the role of fastening finishing materials.
Another advantage of nails is that with special nail guns, the process of assembling structures is accelerated at times.
Now a little test. For comparison, we took two screws 6x90 and 4.5x70, two self-tapping screws 4.8x110 and 3.5x55, as well as a small 3x75 nail.
A short video will help you see the difference between them.
It can be seen that hardened self-tapping screws are the most fragile and break almost immediately. Black steel self-tapping screws are more durable, but also do not withstand several bends. But to break a nail, you need to make a couple of dozen sharp bending movements.
This test does not mean that we are campaigning for the use of nails. We just want to show that the choice of fasteners should be treated with due attention. And, of course, there are a lot of places where self-tapping screws will give odds to any nails.
The importance of a competent choice of fasteners in the construction of a frame building is beyond doubt. At the same time, when connecting different elements and parts of a building, the type of hardware suitable for a particular situation should be used. Of course, in most buildings erected according to frame technology, the main type of fasteners are nails.
Types of fasteners used in frame housing construction
In today's frame housing construction the following types of fasteners are used:
- Nails. The traditional version of the device of various nodes wooden houses. It is a wedge driven into wood. They are used to connect almost all elements and parts of a frame house, with rare exceptions;
- Self-tapping screws. They are immersed in the material by screwing, which is accessible due to the presence of a screw thread. The main place of use is the crate and sheathing;
- Staples. Partially driven into wood or other materials. They are mainly used when sheathing a frame house;
- Hairpins. They are bolted connections. They are made of galvanized steel and are used for fastening beams, rafters and other most massive and critical load-bearing structures.
The above list shows that only nails are used at any stage of the construction of a frame house. This is due to the presence of a number of significant advantages of this type of fastener.
Advantages of nails over self-tapping screws
The main advantages of nails in comparison with self-tapping screws of similar parameters are as follows:
- Stable position of the nail inside the wood, which is achieved by pressure exerted on the fastener from all sides;
- The ability to withstand constant temperature and humidity deformations characteristic of wood, destroying the screw thread of self-tapping screws and making their position in the material unstable;
- The ability to withstand severe lateral loads, characteristic of the hinged joints of frame houses and easily breaking self-tapping screws made of red-hot iron.
As a result, it is advisable to use self-tapping screws in frame housing construction only in nodes where the main load is the impact on separation, for example, when installing a crate, fastening mineral wool, chipboard or siding.
Types of nails and their functional purpose
The nails that are used in today's frame construction are high-tech hardware of several types. The most commonly used:
- Galvanized ordinary and screw (another name - ruffled, ring). The use of this type of fastener is mandatory requirement during the construction of external structures of the building. Screw, ring or ruff nails are equipped with a special notch various shapes, which increases friction in the nodes and, as a result, the rigidity of the frame;
- Black ordinary and screw. They are used to connect individual elements and structures located inside the building. The use of non-galvanized nails is a way to save money during construction, however, not all professional builders use this option in practice;
- Nails under nailer. They are a special hardware that is immersed in wood using a special tool without shock loading;
- Roofing nails, black and galvanized. Have small size and are used for sheathing with various plates or fastening rolled insulating materials.
The number of types of nails used in frame construction is not limited to the above list. Moreover, modern manufacturers regularly present various improvements to this seemingly simple and ordinary fastener.
It seems to me that the love of our frame house builders for self-tapping screws stems from a misunderstanding of the elementary laws of physics and mechanics. It seems to them that if you tighten it tighter, it will be strong and reliable! Well, they screw self-tapping screws wherever they go - they fasten the frames of walls and ceilings with them, mount the slab sheathing and sincerely believe that if you use not hardened, but galvanized screws on the outside, then the house will stand on them for centuries. Oh well...
"Nails! Everyone needs nails!" shouted Krosh in a famous cartoon and was largely right. The North American "CODE" regulates the use of only nails, our SP 31-105-2002 also insists on nails, the Finns and the Swedes out, for some reason they build frame houses using nailers ... Maybe they all don't know that there is such a thing in the world a miracle, like a black Chinese self-tapping screw? =)
However, everything is much more prosaic - the material from which the nail is made implies the possibility of its deformation. That is, in the event of any non-design loads, the nail will bend or stretch without deforming the knocked down parts and without breaking itself.
In the case of a hardened self-tapping screw (and they are all hardened, even galvanized), it turns out that either the parts will be damaged, or the self-tapping screw will simply break. Yes, and the same black self-tapping screws rot only on the way, because they are intended for fixing GKL / GLV where heavy loads are not expected and there is no aggressive effect of moisture on the fastening material.
So, the use of self-tapping screws (screws - one hell of a thing) in the frame of the walls is:
- loss of time for the process (nailing with a nailer is an order of magnitude faster!);
- loss of finances (nails are cheaper than self-tapping screws and bits gradually grind off);
- destruction of fasteners in the future due to corrosion;
- high risk of breakage or destruction of the frame in the event of a strong shear load ( strong wind, for example).
The only place where self-tapping screws can be used is the installation of materials to the floor frame, because. in this case, the self-tapping screw is not affected by shear loads, daily operation does not involve the presence of moisture, and you can save on glue and screw nails.
There are no trifles in a high-quality frame house, and such, at first glance, an insignificant thing as fasteners, in terms of significance, generally takes on one of the main roles. Without reliable and properly selected fasteners, there will be no reliable and durable home.
It is important to use the correct fasteners not only for the frame of the house, but also for fixing the inner and outer skin.
Many future homeowners will not even think about such a “little thing”, asking themselves the question of what is better than self-tapping screws or nails, which is quite understandable. The cost of purchasing fasteners and mounting materials make up a small part of the total estimate for the construction of a frame house. It is much worse when the right fasteners are forgotten, or the builders themselves simply do not know. The reverse side of the coin in this matter is the regime of total savings on materials. With this approach, hardware falls under the reduction. In this case, the estimate will most likely include the most economical option, such as black self-tapping screws and regular construction nails. By and large, there is nothing wrong with such fastener options, but only if it is used strictly for its intended purpose, and not wherever possible. For example, black self-tapping screws are indispensable as temporary fasteners, they are also great for interior wall cladding. board materials(drywall, QuickDeck) in preparation for fine finishing. The main rule is to observe the purpose of fasteners during the construction of a frame house, apply it where it is needed and cope with its main task. For a correct assessment of the need to use certain hardware in the frame, it is necessary to correctly assess what loads act in one or another node of the frame house.
To a popular question: what better nails or self-tapping screws you can absolutely unequivocally give the answer that each fastener must be used for its intended purpose.
See what happens to an ordinary hardened self-tapping screw when it takes the load on the cut. The self-tapping screw breaks in its weakest point and its head flies off, therefore it is strictly contraindicated to use this type of fastener as a fastening of beam supports. But in this place of attachment, special galvanized anchor nails with an annular notch and a cone head feel great. Such a nail has a diameter of 4.2 mm, and the cone head is wedged in the holes of the perforated fasteners, due to which it is virtually impossible to cut off the head with such a nail, of course, provided that such nails are hammered in sufficient quantities.
Be sure to consider the environment in which the fasteners will be located.
When choosing options for the use of fasteners, it is necessary to take into account the environment in which it will be located. In places unprotected from precipitation, as well as in places with the likely occurrence of condensate, fasteners with a special protective coating that protects against corrosion are required. For example, we as fasteners exterior finish from wood we choose nails with hot galvanization, the resistance to external factors of which has shown itself with the best side. We bring such fasteners only from Finland, since Russian analogues with similar processing and similar in characteristics do not satisfy us in terms of quality.
| Fastener location | Fastener type | a photo |
| Fastening the strapping board to a monolithic base | Expanding anchor |  |
| Fastening terrace board to wooden lags | Structural self-tapping torx screw |  |
| Fastening the racks of the frame | Smooth nails under nailer |  |
| Stitched (double, triple) frame racks | Ruffed / Screw nail under nailer |  |
| Stitched (double, triple) outdoor poles | Ruffed / Helical galvanized or galvanized nail |  |
| Fastening lag supports, beam supports | Galvanized nail with cone head and ring notch |  |
| Lathing, rail | Galvanized self-tapping screw, ruffed or screw nail |  |
| Soft roof, Isoplaat | Galvanized roofing nail |  |
| The outer cladding of the house is an imitation of a wooden beam. | Ruffed galvanized nail under the nailer with galvanization. |  |
| Sheathing the house with windproof MDF boards. | Galvanized roofing nail, galvanized staples 50-60 mm. |  |
| Fastening structural beams, rafters, crossbars, puffs | Zinc-plated stud, zinc-plated washers and nuts. |  |
Returning to the economic aspect of our article, I would like to mention that the price of special fasteners can reach up to 20 rubles. per piece, which is more than 60 times more expensive than the price of a regular black self-tapping screw 3.8 * 51 mm. On the scale of the entire construction, where total hardware goes to tens of thousands of pieces, the amount is significant.
The cost of highly specialized fasteners can be several times higher than the cost of conventional nails or self-tapping screws.
There is one more unpleasant nuance that can “emerge” from dishonest developers, and which allows you to reduce the estimate for the total cost of fastening materials - this is the amount of fasteners used in one or another node of the frame house. Less spent fasteners - more benefits for the company, and in the absence of proper control, "extra" nails, corners and self-tapping screws can go to meet the construction needs of a dishonest builder. With this approach, in some nodes of the frame house there is a risk of a very strong shortage in their reliability.
There are regulations that govern required amount fasteners in each frame node, plus there are recommendations from manufacturers building materials according to the required type and quantity of fasteners for fastening materials. In our work, we try to focus on American and Scandinavian building codes, which are often tougher than Russian ones. normative documents. For example, in Europe, if such standards are not observed, the house simply will not pass the inspection by the responsible authorities. For us, compliance with such standards is a guarantee of confidence in the maximum reliability of all our homes.