I have used 9 gauge concrete nails in the past for pinning corners in the concrete footing for residential home construction, but the concrete nails have declined in quality, in my opinion, and now are difficult to set.?ÿ They fly off like tiny springs and bend more easily.
What nail would you suggest for this application?
I think I would scribe a small X at the desired location, fill in the scribe mark with a black sharpie, then spray clearcoat to seal. Let the mason put in their own nail to pull their string lines from.
Thats an idea,?ÿ if it rains though before the mason has a chance to start, the mud in the footing would tend to obliterate the marks once scraped clear with a shovel, I would think.
Another solution would be to drill a pilot hole and epoxy a nail to the footer so a string line could be pulled tight.
Of course a lot of it depends on how soon you pin the footers after they are poured.?ÿ For a day or two, the concrete is pretty soft and you cold almost use 16d nails.?ÿ If you wanted to haul a little more equipment around, you could use a Ramset that drives a nail in with a .22 blank into any concrete.
Mag nail
You can hammer drill a hole in green concrete very quickly.?ÿ Then, if needed, set a mag nail...
Lately all the concrete footers I have dealt with have been well cured already unfortunately,?ÿ Maybe I am getting old, but it seems the concrete mix has also gotten harder for residential homes as opposed to commercial.?ÿ I have thought about the ram set (that is what my son wants!),?ÿ but have never had a chance to talk with a surveyor that actually uses one.
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@jim-in-az?ÿ ?ÿWhat size do you use??ÿ I have a sack of 1 1/2" that I plan to try but they seem too fat.
I've used a ramset before; a long time ago...
It worked ok; you had to work on the accuracy?ÿ
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Mag Nail is pretty much all we use today
pinning corners in the concrete footing for residential home
While in business for 30+ years (retired now) and staking thousands of new houses I have never had to do that. Aren't the house corners, hub and tack, with grade stake sufficient for the masons? ?????ÿ
@flga-2-2 I have been setting concrete nails in the footing for 50 years.?ÿ (I started when I was 18)
We have rarely set offsets.
I ordered the smallest mag nail with the tabs.
