Quote:
Originally Posted by ctviggen /forum/post/16648380
Could you point out where?
For the same basic “size” of hardware, the cross sectional area of a nail is larger than a screw. Also, the fluted structure and the process of rolling the screw threads produce significant stress concentration spots on the shank of a screw that nails do not have (unless you are using ring-shank nails.) These two factors make nails much more robust in areas where the fastener is loaded in shear.
Further, nails are allowed to flex and “give” (pull out) when the structure undergoes severe tension loads. Where as the shape and design of a screw (as cited in the previous paragraph) makes them much more likely to fail completely (snap/break) in a similar situation. For example, in a sever event (a tornado say, or a case where way too many drunk college kids significantly overload a deck) the slow/gradual failure (relatively speaking, it may still happen in the span of a second or less) of pulling nails out of joints requires significantly more energy than snapping a screw. The added energy required may well be the difference between a flattened house/deck and one that is just severely damaged. (If you don’t think it is true, nail 10 nails into a board and drive 10 similar sized screws into a board. Now take a pry bar and quickly pull the nails out with your right hand and quickly snap the heads off of the screws with your left, your arms will easily tell you which one had to do a lot more work.)
Lastly, nails are a lot cheaper and faster to install than screws.
-Suntan