Roofing question - limited access to drive nails

[dhermesc]

I am shingling my renter's house and have run into an issue - there is an add on porch on the side of the house that has the roof come to with 4 or 5 inches of the soffit for the main roof. This extends out about 18 inches. Getting a hammer to drive nails seems impossible with the tiny space but somehow they did it last it was shingled - how do you drive a nail with only a tiny bit of space?

I did part of this yesterday in the area sloping up to the soffit (hip roof) and ended up driving the nails with the side of the hammer as the claw prevented me from getting any kind of swing. The rest of the area is even tighter. Is there a screw I could use with a stubby screw driver? To top it off this part of the roof was not resheeted and the sheeting is the original 1 x 12 old growth yellow(?) pine from the 40 or 50s and driving a nail is very difficult - especially under the soffit where the wood is in excellent shape.



Another question

Like most people I believe in only one lay of shingles on a roof due to weight. The house I am doing is pretty old and the main part of the house was shingled and resheeted with plywood back in the late 1990s early 2000s. It appears they used a pretty good felt paper (30 pound?). But they used the cheapest 3 tab shingles they could find. I am peeling the shingles off and have had excellent luck NOT damaging the felt paper. Currently I am leaving the 30 pound felt from 20/25 years ago down and putting Gaff Felt Buster over it. I had never tried this before because usually the felt is heavily damaged while removing the shingles and everything gets removed. Anyone else tried this in the past? I am using shingle shovels for removing the old three tabs and they work great in just peeling off the shingles and leaving the felt undamaged for the most part with just a little scarring but no tears.


I only tried this after I saw the roofers do this on my brother's house. They got the shingles off without damaging much of the felt and then used the cheapest underlayment they could find (looked like a giant Hefty bag that was extremely thin and easily torn). The roofer said the original felt was so much better than anything he had bid the job with and the new stuff he was putting on was just supposed to be better than nothing.

 

[Steve A W]

Try one of these.
Palm nailer

 

[dhermesc]

$240 for a dozen nails. I might just glue them to the underlayment for that price.

 

[chvet73]

I live in the land of tile roofs. The primary reason for roof leaks in this area is failed paper. Tile rarely fail. Leaving old paper is a guarantee of roof leaks. You can put a 2nd layer of paper over what you have. Around here many house deliberately put a double layer of paper on.
But using an old layer over is a recipe for disaster.

 

[dhermesc]

I am covering the traditional felt paper with GAFF Felt Buster so it does have two layers of underlayment that have completely different seams.

 

[ss55]

Roofing staples?

 

[dhermesc]

Or use this:


https://www.homedepot.com/p/GAF-Liberty-3-ft-x-34-ft-100-sq-ft-SBS-Self-Adhering-Cap-Sheet-Roll-for-Low-Slope-Roofing-in-White-3732920/100031926?mtc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D22-022_010_ROOFING-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-4035567-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-2023&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D22-022_010_ROOFING-NA-NA-NA-PLALIA-4035567-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-2023-71700000108122359-58700008324160050-92700075650899085&msclkid=934c661f84b21499305402e0aaf7f85d&gclid=934c661f84b21499305402e0aaf7f85d&gclsrc=3p.ds

With some roofing adhesive/tar and nail around the outside edge.

 

[TimV]

You certainly don't have to spend $240 or anywhere close to that. Plenty others for $50 or under. Got mine from HF for $30 or so years back and it works fine. You'll find lots of uses for one--different tips give various capabilities, even things like body work in limited spaces. One below, and lots of others with a bit of looking--corded, pneumatic, and cordless, depending on what works for you.
palm nailer

 

[dhermesc]

Harbor freight - $24. Looks like I'm headed downtown today.

 

[TimV]

I think you'll get your money's worth. Yet another one of those tools where you don't necessarily use it often, but when you do, it's worth every penny as it gives you capabilities you just don't have without it. Got mine for driving pole barn nails after borrowing a friend's for that purpose when he'd shown me how handy it was. Another friend just borrowed mine recently to drive out a wheel bearing that was so placed he couldn't reach it with any combination he tried of hammers and punches, but was able to get it out with the palm nailer and a punch tip.

 

[DoubleO7]

Pneumatic palm nailer.
From $25 at HF and up for al brands.

The electric Milwaukee is to bulky and defeats the reason for needing one.

 

[David Snipes]

In limited space like that I have used a stiff crowbar; place the flat part on the nail and strike the bar with the hammer where it comes out of the small area.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 11:16:37 09/11/23) In limited space like that I have used a stiff crowbar; place the flat part on the nail and strike the bar with the hammer where it comes out of the small area.

That's how I've seen it done as well.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Just glue them down with plastic cement. It comes in a tube like caulk.

 

[mjsnodgrass]

sencom mini palm nailer. real handy when needed.

 

[Frank(Mi.)]

Make sure the head of the roofing nails will fit into the palm nailer, otherwise use the roof cement in the caulk tubes like Steve suggested.

 

[BradCNY]

I had a contractor explain the purpose of tar/felt paper to me years ago. It's to keep the plywood from drawing out the tar out of the shingles. That's why the old paper crumbles when you tear off the old roof, it did it's job and it's all dried out. Putting a second layer over original shouldn't hurt anything, or add much extra weight.

 

[ratface]

I was just wondering if two layers of paper is going to create a surface for moisture to gather from condensation. If you think about wall insulation you have faced and unfaced bats to choose from. If you cover faced bats with plastic you create a condensation surface because of the temperature changes in the wall. Would not putting two layers of paper on a roof cause the same reaction with the the wide temperature swings on a roof causing a mold nightmare?

 

[Mule Meat]

As Frank stated. Make sure that the head of the nail will fit into the cylinder/ sleeve.

Something else to consider. Palm nailers drive nails much like how a jack hammer works. So if you have medical problems with your wrist or hands. They may not be the best tool to use if you have a lot of nails to drive.

 

[dhermesc]

I have seen 100 year old siding come off a house and the 1X sheeting underneath the old tar paper looks like it went up yesterday. I know some of the new underpayments are supposed to be better but something about a petroleum based product protecting the wood appeals to me. Probably goes back to listening to my dad preach about oil based paint protecting wood.....


If I can have both it can't hurt.