15mm T&G wood cladding - Fixing

[NewToAllOfThis]

Have around 1000 linear metres of T&G wood cladding to fix to external of the building so have been looking at nail guns. It seems that the best way to fix is to go into the tongue at an angle, where the problem starts is that some say first fix and others say second fix gun, both advise not to use one or the other type.

Then I saw an article advising not to go through the tongue and to nail through the face.

 

The wood will be painted so if nailed through the face of the cladding, would each nail hole need to be filled prior to painting.

 

So is it a first or second fix gun, hopefully not by hand as I can imagine 1000 linear metres is a big task with a hammer.

 

[gc100]

I’ve just about done mine. Yes you want it go in at an angle so it pushes the board up against the previous board. In areas that you will see a lot I’ve use a hammer and small stainless nails and then punched them deep into the wood so that you cannot see them. If you are not fussy then use a nail gun. I’ve used a nail gun for the rest of the house and you definitely want a first fix one. However I’ve got the dewalt battery powered one which is great as you can adjust how hard it punches which you kind of need depending on the wood type and thickness (my boards are 22mm but at the tongue it’s thinner). Only downside it’s fairly heavy but manageable.

You need to pay attention to corners and windows reveals if you are doing vertical cladding to make sure you don’t end up with a silly thin cut. You need to slim down the boards so they work out right with a table saw and router 

Edited May 5, 2021 by gc100

[markc]

16 hours ago, NewToAllOfThis said:

Have around 1000 linear metres of T&G wood cladding to fix to external of the building so have been looking at nail guns. It seems that the best way to fix is to go into the tongue at an angle, where the problem starts is that some say first fix and others say second fix gun, both advise not to use one or the other type.

Then I saw an article advising not to go through the tongue and to nail through the face.

 

The wood will be painted so if nailed through the face of the cladding, would each nail hole need to be filled prior to painting.

 

So is it a first or second fix gun, hopefully not by hand as I can imagine 1000 linear metres is a big task with a hammer.

 

A 1st fix gun will be far too big for this job.  (1st fix is timber framing, 2nd fix is floor boards, skirts, Arch`s etc.)

Just to clarify the previous post, nailing through the tongue should be pushing the board down onto the other board, not up. Tongues to the top, grooves down to shed water

[joe90]

First fix (paslode) may be a bit OTT they have teeth that grip the wood and leave dents, but if filling and painting may not be a problem. Second fix (paslode) fires Brad type nails (think panel pins) so not much head and can be fired at an angle through the tongue (which I have done fir floorboards. I would be wary of using brads as twisting etc of the wood may pull the pins out. First fix nails (with head) almost impossible to pull out (even if you want to ?).

[gc100]

It does depend on the wood. If its cedar for example then nails and hammer for me (the front of the house is that). I used the nailgun on the larch but as per @joe90 its painted black so you don't see the heads. The Dewalt nail gun doesn't leave any teeth/dent marks as it has a plastic guard to stop that. Here's a section using the nail gun. Honestly you can do it all by hand (with hammer) just slower going but gives the best result. My carpenter said a 2nd fix nails wouldnt be strong enough. This is area is using the 1st fix gun (50mm stainless nails) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dnb]

58 minutes ago, joe90 said:

First fix (paslode) may be a bit OTT they have teeth that grip the wood and leave dents, but if filling and painting may not be a problem.

Get a "no mar" head for the 1st fix gun. They work well if you are painting the cladding. Photos to follow if you want.

[joe90]

1 hour ago, dnb said:

Get a "no mar" head for the 1st fix gun

Never heard of that ?‍♂️.....every day is a school day 

 

[NewToAllOfThis]

9 hours ago, gc100 said:

I’ve just about done mine. Yes you want it go in at an angle so it pushes the board up against the previous board. In areas that you will see a lot I’ve use a hammer and small stainless nails and then punched them deep into the wood so that you cannot see them. If you are not fussy then use a nail gun. I’ve used a nail gun for the rest of the house and you definitely want a first fix one. However I’ve got the dewalt battery powered one which is great as you can adjust how hard it punches which you kind of need depending on the wood type and thickness (my boards are 22mm but at the tongue it’s thinner). Only downside it’s fairly heavy but manageable.

You need to pay attention to corners and windows reveals if you are doing vertical cladding to make sure you don’t end up with a silly thin cut. You need to slim down the boards so they work out right with a table saw and router 

Thanks for the advise, ours will be Horizontal cladding, what size nails did you use. Also what size battening did you use, timber frame company has put 50mm x 50mm  wood around the window and door openings as they said this is the fire barrier and has to be 50mm to meet building regs, is this correct as I have one small windows along one 14 metre run and no windows along the other side 14 metre run and was looking at using 25mm deep battening ?

 

While I'm on about cladding, as it will be 3 boards per run, should I align the joints and maybe place strips of trim along the vertical to cover the joins or stagger the joins, what is the chance that the joins will not show either immediately or over time as the cladding moves over time.