Overheard a guy at the supply house say 'just use roofing nails for everything' and it got me thinking

I was grabbing some shingles last Tuesday and this older roofer in line tells the kid at the counter that roofing nails work for siding, framing, whatever. Said he's been doing it 20 years. At first I thought that's dumb, but then I remembered I used a few deck screws on a ridge cap two months ago because I ran out of nails. Caught myself doing the same thing he was talking about. Has anyone else caught themselves cutting corners on purpose even when you know better?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel1401mo ago

Man, I've totally been there. Last spring I was patching a shed roof and grabbed a handful of drywall screws from my truck because I was too lazy to walk back to the garage for the right nails. It worked fine but I felt like a jackass when I saw them poking through the other side. We all do dumb stuff when we're in a hurry or just want the job done.

henryp401mo agoMost Upvoted

Drywall screws on a shed roof, huh? That's the kind of shortcut that makes you proud for about thirty seconds until you see the evidence. Bet those little points caught the sunlight like a bad tattoo. Nothing says "I got this done" like a billion sharp tips poking through the other side, right? Makes you wonder why we don't just carry a full hardware store in the truck bed at all times.

the_diana1mo ago

Did the guy at the counter say anything or did he just ring him up like this was totally normal advice? Because honestly that sounds like the kind of pro tip that gets you a call back from the homeowner at 2 AM when their siding starts flapping in the wind. Guess we all learn the hard way that "it worked last time" is a dangerous game, huh?