Installing Vinyl Siding With Nail Gun

If you are installing vinyl siding manually with no power tools then nails are your only real option.

Installing vinyl siding with nail gun.

Use aluminum galvanized steel or other corrosion resistant nails staples or screws when installing vinyl siding. Choose a nail gun that will accept siding nails. The gun should have adjustments so you can change the pressure used based on the type of siding you are nailing into. I d say every 10th nail comes out at such an angle to clip the edge of the hole and either crack the siding or just put a hole in the edge that you have to pry out to allow the siding to move.

For this reason manufacturers design it to hang loosely on the nails rather than to be tightly nailed like wood siding. For instance you will need a higher air pressure for nailing into fiber cement than you would into pine 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. Because of this a pneumatic nail gun can make the job much easier.

Technique however is critical. The problem should be easy to diagnose. Aluminum trim pieces require aluminum or stainless steel fasteners. Vinyl siding tends to expand and contract considerably with temperature changes.

Installing vinyl siding involves a lot of nailing. Simply go outside grab the lower edges of a siding course and try to slide it back and forth photo 1. If you are doing regular horizontal siding the trick really is to make sure you are holding the gun square to the siding and to the building.