The days of manual hammering have gone. Now it’s beyond the question of can a nail gun go through concrete! Of course, a nail can drive nails into concrete.
However, all types of nail guns are not for concrete. A 23 gauge pin nailer cannot fix the photo frame into the wall of your house. Again, you cannot carry the masonry work of your house with an 18 gauge brad nailer. So what you need to know is the right nailer for concrete.
In this article, we will show you the right nailer for concrete along with the method of application. Side by side, you can find out the required budget for the nailer and maintenance. So without any further interruption, let’s chat with the best nail gun for concrete.
Quick Overview
What Nail Gun is for Concrete?
Now the question is, can you drive nails into concrete with your 23 gauge nailer? Or is a finish nailer can drive nails into concrete? No, absolutely not. The finish nailer is a 15 gauge angled nailer and a 16 gauge straight nailer. The larger the gauge is, the thinner the nails are!
So with a thinner nail of 18 gauge or 23 gauge, you cannot hit the concrete. Rather, these nails will break when you hit them in concrete. Again the nailer head may crackdown.
However, with an 8 gauge framing nailer, you can drive nails into wood to concrete for the setting frame. Again, a finish nailer also can carry baseboard trim, cabinet molding, crown molding, and carpentry.
However, for masonry nailing like nailing through concrete, you need lower gauge nails with more thickness. And there is a specified nailer for concrete, which is known as powder actuated nailer.
The Ramset and Hilti both guns are excellent for concrete, which needs cartridge load for activating. So there is no need for electricity or any battery clamps. So powder-activated guns are super portable.
Nails of Powder-Actuated Nail Gun
The stud or nails of the powder-actuated gun are not like a typical nailer. 22 blank nails with different power levels are for the Ramset gun. And Ramset provides a color indication of the nails with different power levels.
The order of power is gray, brown, green, yellow, red, and purple. For example, the green box is for power level three and the brown is for power level two.
22 Caliber nails are very familiar with concrete. These nails can go through even human bones. And there are also 27 caliber nails which are the best for industrial-grade construction works.
There is a plastic collar like Sabo which keeps the nail straight. And the thickness is 0.5 inches, and the length is 1.00 inches to 3 inches. What you need is to drive at least 1 inch of nails into the concrete.
How Powder-Actuated Nail Gun Works
Powder actuated nail gun works with the expulsion of firing cartridge. With the nail of the box, there is a smaller explosive cartridge which is known as powder load. And you need to insert the nails before filling the powder load to avoid accidental fire.
For activating powder load some manufacturers provide the feature of hitting with a hammer. And some models have a pump system to activate the load. A pump gun is easy to use as what you need is to pull the chamber and pump the tool.
Budget
You will be delighted to know that the Ramset gun is cost-effective and requires less maintenance. You can get a powerful nailer with an ergonomic injection within 120 bucks. And the cost per box of nails and the cartridge will cost $5 to $15 depending on the capacity of the nails.
So according to me, buying a Ramset gun is better than renting a powerful powder actuated nailer, which is a complete solution for masonry nailing.
Required Tools for Nailing Concrete
- Powder Actuated Nail Gun (Ramset/Hilti)
- Safety Glass
- 22 Blank Nails
- Gloves
- Hammer
The Method of Nailing
Step 1: Loading the Nail into Barrel
- First thing first load the barrel with the specialized stud for powder-actuated nailer
- For Ramset gun you need 22 caliber nails with a plastic washer to prevent splitting of wood
- The nail loading is not like typical nails magazine inserting
- These nails are individually set with the color matching cartridge
- There is a pipe-like barrel on the forward part of the nailer
- What you need is to push a single nail on the barrel end and fix it in the pointed place of the nail
Note: Never push too deep of the barrel
Step 2: Inserting the Cartridge
- After fixing the nails, you need to fill the powder load in the cartridge chamber
- Powder load comes with the stud with matching color so that the user can make sure which powder load is for what nails
- There are two sides of the cartridge; one side is narrow and the other side is flat
- For loading the powder load/cartridge, just open the load chamber and place the load into the chamber by pointing the narrow side of the load towards the end of the barrel
- After loading the cartridge, shut down the chamber very carefully
Step 3: Place the Gun in the Accurate Point
- After loading the gun, place the barrel of the nailer at the point where you want to nail
- Just place the nailer vertically, pointing the barrel upside down (90 degrees)
- After that, you need to activate the powder load
- Some guns are like a pump-action shotgun
- And for this type of gun, you can activate the cartridge by pumping
Step 4: Activating the Powder Load
- For activating the powder load, what you need is a hammer
- With the hammer hit upon the backside of the gun
- Then you can hear the noise of driving nails if the powder load is activated
- If not, then again strike the gun
Note: Don’t hit the surface so forcefully that the surface may crackdown
Safety Measures
Powder actuated nail gun is a very dangerous machine. The nails shot by a Ramset gun can even go through the human skull causing serious injury! And every year about 45K people have to go to the emergency room for nail gun injuries.
To avoid these sorts of hazard what you need is to follow the safety tips while working with the gun.
- Do put on the goggles for protecting eyes from hitting any debris
- Don’t forget to wear hand gloves and a gumboot while nailing
- Load the nails before loading the cartridge to avoid accidental fire
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Question: Can a framing nailer go through concrete?
Answer: A framing nailer can fix a wooden frame on concrete by driving 8 gauge framing nails.
Question: How to remove nails from concrete?
Answer: By using a Pincer plier or claw hammer, you can remove nails from concrete.
Question: Do I need a manual hammer to drive nails into concrete?
Answer: Yes, for driving the nails of powder-activated nail guns, you need a hammer to push the nails by activating the powder load.
Question: Can I drive nails manually into the concrete?
Answer: Yes, you can manually drive nails into concrete. But there are high chances to crack down the concrete while struck by the hammer.
Question: How much does it cost to fasten nails into concrete?
Answer: A powder-actuated nailer costs $120 to $1000. And per box of 2.5 to 3.5 inches, nails will cost $15 to $17. So within 150 bucks, you can get the full package of a powder-actuated nail gun.
To Conclude
For faster and professional nailing through concrete, there is no other alternative to the best corded electric nail gun. And a powder-actuated nail gun is ideal for garage work.
After getting the answer to the question, can a nail gun go through concrete what you need is to buy the best Ramset nailer. And Amazon offers a huge variety of powder-actuated tools with an affordable budget. So without any delay, grab your desired model before the stock is out!
Related Articles
Leave a Reply