mgrier Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hi, I'm in the midst of a paneling / trim project in my dining room and then living room. After a few mis-steps in the beginning I have a design that is going well. However when I went to nail the base rail for the paneling below a window in our dining room, the nail gun (15ga 2.5") would sink the nail to a certain degree (through the drywall at least) and then bend the nail. The window in question is on the right hand side of the wall, 10" in from the corner. It's a casement window and the top of the extension on the bottom side of the window is 20.5" from the floor. This is the first window; I don't know if this same pattern holds for the remaining windows in the dining room and living room. The trim I'm nailing is 5/4 x 8 pine. Just to the left of the window, the nails hit studs and hold well. I'm somewhat perplexed as to what's going on. My current guess is that I need to pre-drill thin holes and then hand nail some 8d finish nails into place. Is this metal flashing perhaps? If I drill a hole through it will I be subverting whatever protective value the flashing is giving me? Right next to where the nail won't go in, there is obviously nothing behind the drywall since I can drive a nail and it doesn't hold at all. I guess I'll open up the wall to take a look but if it is metal flashing (I don't know what else could be preventing the air nailer from driving the nail home), I still would like guidance on how to proceed. Thanks in advance! Mike Grier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Your nail should go right through metal flashing, but it might be a metal stud/footer. The window itself might be metal. How old is the house, and what part of the world are you in? This will give us some clues as to the possible construction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSawitFirst Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 Its unusual to have flashing under the window sill. Try some test nails at the other windows. If you have the same results, consider gluing the trim using construction adhesive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryangel69 Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I lived in a house that a nail could not be driven. It had solid oak everything. Predrilling was the only option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 I'm not sure exactly where you're trying to nail, but consider that sometimes they intentionally put small metal plates between the studs and the drywall to protect plumbing and/or electrical stuff inside the wall from nails. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royal Payne Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 I'm not sure exactly where you're trying to nail, but consider that sometimes they intentionally put small metal plates between the studs and the drywall to protect plumbing and/or electrical stuff inside the wall from nails. -- Russ Ya, you don't want to drill through some conduit or a water line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Ya, you don't want to drill through some conduit or a water line. Or WORSE, your Internet connection... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMarshall Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 Or WORSE, your Internet connection... Yeah, then all the kittens would leak out of the internet into his dining room. What a mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Adkins Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 As others have said you should not have a problem nailing through any flashing that is around the window and even on an aluminum window the nailing flange is typically on the out side. That being said I tend to agree that it could be a plate to protect wiring but probably not a water line as you don't normally install waterlines in an exterior wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrier Posted March 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I ended up opening the wall in order to move an outlet and there was nothing there but three 2x4s! I had to drill through the three to move the 110v cable and the middle one was so hard that it actually removed the cutting edges from the 1" spade bit I was using! I had to switch to the 7/8" bit and finish the middle and then right of the three. I'm guessing that going through the 5/4" trim and drywall must have taken enough energy that the nail then couldn't pierce the 2x4s. I'm going to get some trim screws and just use them under the windows with pre-drilling. Weird but true. The house is about 25 years old. The studs are wood, a pine or doug fir. Another Saturday lost to a drywall project instead of installing trim. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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