stainless steel nails: can I find some that are structural? 1

[randomizer]

Hello fellow Structural folk,
Thank you for your assistance. I have been getting a lot of feedback that stainless steel nails are flimsy, brittle and/or weak.

Does anyone have specifications for structural stainless steel nails? Or a list of capacities?

Thank you very much!

Mike

 

[Ron]

Why not try Googling "stainless steel nails"? You'll find a lot of info. Depending on the alloy, they should have the properties of that alloy. Most are going to be 304, 316, or 400 series alloys.

 

[randomizer]

I definitely googled. But I didn't get definite structural information. I am not confident that going from a straight materials strength times area to calculate the capacity is the best way to go. I am wondering if there is more to it that that: manufacturing practices, etc.

Like I said, I've received a lot of negative feedback from contractors on the ductility and strength of stainless steel nails. Being in seismic country, both of these are a big concern to me.

Mike in Seattle

 

[racookpe1978]

True. The nail might be lower strength. At first.

But how much strength does a rusted-through 16 penny nail have after 6 months exposure to salt and humidity?

 

[woodman88]

The nail manufacturer should have the information for their nails. You can buy stainless steel nails from Simpson Stronge-Tie and they have testing information. These values might not be the same as someone else nails but you could call Simpson and see where their testing information stands.

Garth Dreger PE
AZ Phoenix area

 

[TXStructural]

Try searching the ICC-ES database at:

http://www.icc-es.org/reports/index.cfm

The search result for "nail" is short.