Nailing No-No’s
"Oh no … my contractor didn't read the instructions and used the wrong nails!"
That was the bewildered cry of one Pacific Northwest homeowner recently. She knew something was wrong because she was starting to see "rust stains" on her fairly new DaVinci Roofscapes designer roof.
After a quick visit by one of DaVinci's technical experts, the reason was easy to determine — her roofing installer had used framing nails instead of an appropriate 50-year fastener (see Stainless Steel Nails) to secure her composite roofing in place. There's no easy solution for this problem, so it's best to verify with your roofer beforehand that they're using stainless steel, or hot-dipped galvanized nails when installing DaVinci steep slope roofing tiles.
Here's another nailing no-no. Don't forget to nail down the bottom tab on both Bellaforte composite slate and synthetic shake roofing products. It's important to secure the tabs for a firm, confident installation that can help prevent damage from high winds and severe weather.
Finally, DaVinci Class A Fire Rated roofing tiles are thick and realistic-looking, so installers need to make sure to install our imitation slate and polymer shake tiles with a minimum 1-1/2" roofing nails. The nails must be long enough to penetrate through the roof deck and exceed it by 3/16". And, if you're in high wind areas, make sure to use ring-shank nails. For more nailing tips, visit Which Nails Should I Use for a Composite Slate Roof?