OK to use brads making stud wall?

boru

For speed and ease, I'd like to use my Bostitch compressor and brad gun to put together 2x4s in a non-load bearing wall in the cellar. I'm making a workshop and want to put pegboards on the 2x4s to hang my tools.

Is that OK, or must I really use nails?

jlhaslip

nails. brads aren't long enough or thick enough.
you can use the gun to 'tack' them together, but nails to secure them.

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daveb1

Perhaps you could rent a framing nailer.Your compresser can probably keep up as long as it can deliver enough PSI.

jackofmany

I know the trend in just about all phases of building is to do it with air tools, but as the other response said - brads are really not sufficient in size or diameter. One other course might be to us 2 1/2 " screws (using your drill/driver - to tack it together, then go with 12 d through sill and top plates for the rest.

I've become quite a proponent of using screws. When you buy quantity you really don't spend alot more and many are coated for exterior use that hold up very well even on beach front homes I've worked on.

If you don't have time to do it right - when will you have time to do it over?

WirelessG

I agree. Even though it isn't a load bearing wall, it needs to be put together with framing nails. Should someone trip and fall into the wall, the brads will likely pop out.

daveb1

Screws are another great option.The weight of the wall itself never mind a pegboard full of tools would cause brads to fail.Screws would also be cheaper since you probably own a drill or driver already

1910NE

i will tack bits together with 2 1/2 inch brads, just long enough to put a 3 or 4" screw into it.

jimmy21

i use the **** out of my brad nailer to frame, but its only to tack stuff in place. Usually to tack stuff together that im worried i might have to move over an inch, or whatever, after what im building is put together

kwikfishron

Sounds like a waste of nails to me.

A tape measure and a pencil should help you in not having to move things more than an inch.

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jimmy21

sometimes its not that easy. Only instance i can think of the top of my head was where i was bulding walls, up against the cinderblocks in my basement. The ciderblocks in my basement were very poorly done and they are not flat, straight, plumb, square, etc. So i tacked up a top plate with a brad nailer, where i thought the wall should go, built my wall (using a regular nail gun) and then when it was build i could tap it over to where it looked the best. Then after its in place, nail the top, and drill and anchor the bottom. I guess i could have drew a line on the ground and then ran a plumb bob down the entire length of my basement to make sure it would all work and then keep adjusting it accordingly, but id much rather waste $.25 cents in brad nails to save a half a day in layout

md2lgyk

If you're just doing one wall, it should take no time at all to do it the old-fashioned way (framing hammer and 16d nails). And regular construction screws are not code approved for framing.