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The Daily Insight

How do you do hardiplank nails

Author

William Smith

Updated on April 19, 2026

For Hardie siding, it’s recommended to use stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized nails. You can either nail by hand or use a pneumatic nailer. However, it’s best to use a pneumatic nailer for speed and consistency. At the bottom, the siding should be face nailed, and at the top, it should be blind nailed.

What is the best way to nail Hardie board?

For Hardie siding, it’s recommended to use stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized nails. You can either nail by hand or use a pneumatic nailer. However, it’s best to use a pneumatic nailer for speed and consistency. At the bottom, the siding should be face nailed, and at the top, it should be blind nailed.

What kind of nails do you use for hardiplank?

NAIL TYPE: Fasteners must be corrosion resistant, galvanized or stainless steel. Electro-galvanized nails are acceptable for use with James Hardie Siding Products, but may exhibit premature corrosion. James Hardie recommends the use of quality, hot-dipped galvanized nails.

How do you do nails with Hardie planks?

Fasteners must be corrosion resistant, galvanized, or stainless steel. Electro-galvanized are acceptable but may exhibit premature corrosion. James Hardie recommends the use of quality, hot-dipped galvanized nails. James Hardie is not responsible for the corrosion resistance of fasteners.

Do you nail or screw Hardie board?

What is the correct fastener pattern for installing HardieBacker® cement board? Fasten HardieBacker sheets with proper nails or screws (as listed in ”Materials Required” in the backer installation instructions) every 8” around the perimeter and all supporting studs.

Can you use a nail gun on Hardie plank?

Overall, only two types of power nailers work best for attaching hardie siding: siding and roofing nailers. But if you must use a framing nailer, to install any James Hardie product, be sure to fit it with a quality flush mount attachment so as to control the depth the fastener is driven.

Can you put nails in Hardie board?

Hardie board comes with a 30-year manufacturer’s warranty, but that means you need the nails to last at least that long too. James Hardie recommends that nails be hot dip galvanized (at a minimum) or stainless steel (as a best practice).

What nails do I use for cement board siding?

Stainless Steel (304) Nails for Fiber Cement Siding Type 304 Stainless Steel Nails provide a high degree of corrosion resistance. Labeled for HardiPlank® Lap Siding.

Can you use screws on Hardie board?

HardiePlank® lap siding may be used with fasteners approved by ICC-ES ESR-2290 spaced in accordance with the Wind Load Tables. Fasteners must be corrosion resistant, galvanized or stainless steel. … Fasteners shall be installed between 1 in. and 3/4 in.

Can you hand nail Hardie siding?

You can shoot Hardie siding on with air powered nailers or use hand driven roofing nails to attach siding to the home or structure. The nails can be ringed- shanked or smooth just make sure you are hitting the studs in the wall. … Nails drive in too high won’t hold as won’t nails that are over driven.

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Can I use a framing nailer for Hardie siding?

With some overlap in nail size, you may wonder whether framing nailers can be used for siding? The answer is, yes. Framing nail guns can be used for siding installation, if the nail being used is long enough to attach the siding firmly to your exterior wood sheathing.

Can you use Liquid Nails on cement board?

LN-907 Liquid Nails is recommended for cement board and most other common building materials. The application temperature is from 22 to 120 Fahrenheit and the service temperature is -20 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it ideal for just about any DIY project and on most construction projects.

What is the difference between a roofing nailer and a siding nailer?

Both tools are coil nailers that are built to drive nails into wood, but you can’t use them interchangeably. … Siding nailers are for installing siding and roofing nailers are meant for installing roofing.

Can you use a nail gun on fiber cement siding?

Fiberboard cement siding can be hand-nailed, but because it’s so much harder and more brittle than wood, you have to predrill holes near any edge. You can save yourself a bunch of time by using a pneumatic coil siding nail gun. … n Nail lengths should be chosen so they penetrate a minimum of 1-1/4 in.

Does Hardie siding need to be nailed to studs?

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: HardiePlank® lap siding can be installed over braced wood or steel studs spaced a maximum of 24″ o.c. or directly to minimum 7/16″ thick OSB sheathing. See General Fastening Requirements. Irregularities in framing and sheathing can mirror through the finished application.

Can you use roofing nails for siding?

Galvanized Roofing Nails Are Your Best Bet for Siding Success. It’s not surprising to hear that you need a galvanized nail on your home’s exterior—after all, regular fasteners could rust when exposed to the elements.

How do you secure loose hardiplank siding?

HardiePlank is fastened to the home by either blind nailing or face nailing. The nails are covered by the board overlap in the blind nailing method, while the nails are left exposed on the exterior of the boards in the face nailing method. Loose boards are repaired by face-nailing them in place.

How do you attach Hardie to stucco?

The short answer is that yes, we can install Hardie over stucco! The best method involves installing strapping (structural wood framing) fastened through the existing stucco to the studs. This allows us to nail the Hardie boards and trims to the strapping, which is a level and structural fastening surface.

What kind of screws do you use on Hardie board?

James Hardie recommends 1-1/4” long galvanized or STAINLESS steel roofing nails or 1-1/4” long ribbed waferhead screws in compliance with the tile industry. It is 8-18 x 3/8” HD.

Can you drill holes in hardiplank?

HardiePlank is available as ready-to-paint or with a color layer. Although the siding does not require drilling pilot holes, you may need to run wire or cable through the siding, necessitating drilling a hole.

Do you caulk Hardie plank siding?

James Hardie DOES NOT recommend using caulk or “H”-jointers for the butt joints of HardiePlank® siding with ColorPlus® technology. James Hardie also DOES NOT recommend applying caulk to the horizontal overlap between siding planks (see Figure 2).

Do you need a special blade to cut Hardie board?

Cement Board-Cutting Tools For some types of Hardie board, you’ll need a power tool with a cement board blade with a carbide tip to cut the board. Carbide-tipped blades are made specifically for this kind of work. … Once prepared, cut the Hardie board as you would any other material.

Can you use a brad nailer for siding?

A pneumatic nail gun should be used for siding installation, especially for harder fiber cement siding. … You cannot use a brad gun for installing siding because the brads leave two holes for each brad and do not hold up as well as siding nails.

What is the best adhesive for cement board?

Cement board, commonly sold under trade names such as Durock, Hardiebacker, and WonderBoard, is now the standard underlayment used for ceramic, porcelain, or stone tile laid with thinset mortar adhesive.

Can you use drywall screws with cement board?

You don’t want to use regular drywall screws for cement boards. They can corrode, they can break down the edges of the boards, and they won’t drive in flush properly. Use ITW’s ROCK-ON and BACKER-ON screws instead.