Todd, thanks. The contractor used a caulking to seal the flashings and applied the matching stones to protect caulking and match the shakes. The contractor maintains that these nails are the standard nail used on 'all stone-coated steel tiles". Decra's installation literature says "contractor will use color matching fasteners / nails to secure each panel", but my contractor says nobody follows Decra's installation guidelines.
The first photo of Natco Nails (used on my roof) will show a gloss like finish. You can see the reflection of the box graphics off the top of the nails heads. The second and third photos are Burco nails. These would have been non-reflective and a much better nail for my roof.
I'd like to hear from anyone disagreeing with this. I am wrong most of the time (acccording to my wife)
Guest User
2016-08-26 16:13:19.000000
I have run into that a few times over the years, it happens no matter what stone coated product you use if your nailing it. We used a Hilti nail just like that and ran into the same problem on every roof. It's the nature of the beast I am afraid, the nail heads can shine like diamonds when the sun hits them just right. The striker in the nail gun always seemed to leave a shiny spot on the nail head also. 1 of 100 roof installs you may run into a homeowner who is really put off by it. I have painted the nails heads in the past, there isn't really much else you can do. I would get a high quality paint that is a bang on match if I was going to that trouble again. Very time consuming to say the least. Really no idea if it held up over time but paints much better these days.
The granules may work, but we never discovered a good way to attach them to the nail head. You can’t caulk it, the caulk wont hold up. Too much caulk and then granules and you will create an even more visually unattractive situation. It is not easy to apply caulk to a nail head cleanly and in a consistency and quantity appropriate to apply the granules...it just can’t be done properly in the field. What you end up with is “dots” on a roof essentially where every nail is. I have tried it I know first hand...you end up testing a small out of sight area to see what works and what does not.
Metro supplies a tube of Acrylic base coat in the touch up kits. While it works well for touch up it dries very fast and you have very little time to apply granules. I tried this also with better results, but this is no less time consuming. We still had trouble getting enough granules to adhere to the base coat...it covered the nail head but was a very thin coating. Outside temp needs to be on the cool side, the base coat has minimal working time. If I had to do it again I would be looking at paint only.
Guest User
2016-08-26 22:23:05.000000
"Decra states the contractor will use color matching fasteners / nails on each panel."
We used a Hilti nail, it was also black like the one in your pic but it wasnt a smooth head like that. Our SOP was no matter what color the roof is, the nail heads get painted in the box they come in with the spray paint supplied (the same paint we used to paint the vent flashing to match the roof). Even though your nail is black we still would have painted them. Our experience showed us that the extra paint helped to minimized the issue we had (the gun was chipping the coating of the nail head creating a shiny silver spot). If the nail heads held up well we shouldn't have had to paint them on the charcoal products at all but that just wasn’t the case. We had to paint them anyway for the other roof colors so painting them was just normal. Also, painting them in the box would have required only minor touch up later if need be.
If I was the contractor in this case, I would be looking to switch to screws asap regardless of direct to deck or batten installations. At this point its my opinion the contractor needs to paint them with a good quality metal paint and put this behind him. Been there done that, maybe half a dozen times in 20 yrs. Some times what is the “norm” just doesn’t cut it for some folks...i am a bit particular myself, this would bother me also. I wouldn’t use those glossy flat head nails, but this contractor may have done loads of roofs with them and not had an issue...this may be there “normal”.
Artist brush, Q-tip, sponge – you can’t use a spray can, it will create a gigantic mess of Dots. Rust-Oleum Sierra Performance™ MetalMax paint to match the roof color would be my next choice if I ran into this again. Todd, may have a better paint suggestion.
Guest User
2016-08-26 23:35:44.000000
Decra (when calling their reps) will only state that the contractor decides where to nail based on their experience. My contractor said he was 'factory trained' with 30 years of experience, The interesting thing is that I read all the Decra installation procedures for ths specific shake (they post online). My contractor doesn't follow any of their 'guidelines'. According to Decra, the nails are to be positioned directly on the nose of the shake (so would angle downward - no reflection would have occured if he had done that). When I asked my contractor about this he said, the nail misses the batten when nailing flat to the nose of the shake. So, he nails on a 45 degree angle you can see in the photos. This angle what catches the sun and provides the reflection.
Guest User
2016-08-29 13:42:27.000000
That last pic does help.
IMO that nail position is too high and contributing to the shiny appearance of the fasteners. I would confirm with Decra using that pic you posted. If they say your good to go then your ok, i do not think they will say its proper nail position.
How is his nail "near the bottom of the down turn of the panel" per Decra install manual. Nail placement is not really something the manufacturer is going to be vague on.
"Fastening Panels: Panels are fastened to wood battens with a minimum of four 8d corrosion resistant common nails or four minimum #9 Hex (1/4” diameter) x 1-1/2” long corrosion resistant screws (color coordinated). Screws should be used in freeze/thaw areas . One fastener is placed near the bottom on the downturn of the panel 1” from the overlapped edge. The remaining fasteners are evenly spaced across the panel."
Guest User
2016-08-29 18:20:40.000000
Here is a pick that I feel indicates the correct nailing point of Decra Shake.
Guest User
2016-08-29 20:09:00.000000
I have not experienced this personally but at least at one time I believe that Decra supplied stones and adhesive that could be used to cover and conceal each nail head.
Todd Miller
2016-08-26 13:42:58.000000
Thanks Scott. The sad reality is that, with most painted nails, the paint chips off when they are driven in. Exposed fastened metal roofs are installed with painted screws rather than nails, partly for this reason. I am not sure what to say ... the stone chips could be applied to the nails or they could be hit with touch up. Lots of labor to do that and, with the touch up, it will fade over time and may be objectionable. You might want to contact Decra and see what they say. I do agree that the shininess will go away over time ... but I also understand your concerns about living with it in the meanwhile.
Todd Miller
2016-08-26 16:58:28.000000
I am sorry for what you've run into. This is not something I personally have heard of before but I am sure you're not the only one. I saw the picture of the nails ... not sure if you tried to attach more than that. You can if you wish email me photos at todd@asktoddmiller.com
Todd Miller
2016-08-26 17:16:27.000000
I do see and understand your concern. I suspect they will get some better over time. I do worry some about touch up possibly fading over time ... not sure what that would mean. I just have never worked with exposed fasteners like this. If you want, I would not hesitate to push the manufacturer and the contractor for a better option than "wait and see". Just curious ... have you confirmed with Decra that the nail placement is correct? I am not overly familiar with this panel but I was curious.
Todd Miller
2016-08-29 13:10:33.000000
Thank you for the explanation
Todd Miller
2016-08-29 13:46:09.000000
Scott, can you drop me an email at todd@asktoddmiller.com and then I will replay to you?
Todd Miller
2016-08-29 13:47:13.000000
Just had a new Decra Shake roof in Shadowood (very dark) installed over battens. When complete, and between the hours of 10am and 3pm, you can see each nail shining. They appeared to be silver, but the contractor used jet black. The nails are painted with epoxy/acrylic which I am told is a standard finish. The heads have a semi-gloss appearance which explains why they are so reflective.
Of course, seeing nails reflecting like stars in the sky off an almost black non-reflective stone-coated steel roof is not the appearance I was seeking. I was told 'wait a few years and they won't shine anymore' and ' they will be shinning for many years' - depending on who you asked.
I found nails that had a waffle pattern on the head and were painted a flat black paint (Burco) that would have been non-reflective and the rigfht choice, but they weren't used.
Anybody experience this on a darker roof?
Scott Yturria
2016-08-26 13:40:27.000000
The Decra stones were used to coat the caulking on the edge of the flashings. The contracts said these nails were what all the contractors use for metal roofs. Decra statess the contractor will use color matching fasterners / nails on each panel. My contractor says nobody follows the manufacturer's guidelines!
Here is a photo of the nails used on my roof. you can see the reflection of the box graphics on the nails heads.
Tell me I am wrong on this. (my wife says I'm wrong most of the time)
Thanks.
Scott Yturria
2016-08-26 16:18:36.000000
I have had the President of the nail company come to my house and he agreed that the nails were very shiny. Decra says "they don't recommend any particular nail" so it is up to the contractor. The nail manufacturer says the nail color and finish will not degrade for many years. The paint on the nail head did not chip off as I originally thought. The black paint is so shiny it appears like it is reflecting a sliver color!
Touching up each nail with flat black paint will take many hours, and my contractor maintains they will simply fade in a few years.
It is too bad my first metal roof has to experience this totally unexpected issue.
(I guess the photos I sent can't be posted?)
Scott Yturria
2016-08-26 17:05:41.000000
Thank you Andy and Todd, The contractor has asked that I visit some roofs that he has installed over the past 12 months which he claims the nails have faded and they won't shine. I am happy to do this and hopefully this problem will remedy itself. According to the nail manufacturer, the shine will last a long time as these nails are a very hard epoxy paint. None of the paint chipped off the heads as a result of the nail gun, so only UV degradation over time could naturally reduce the reflectivity.
I found a few enamel paints (flat black) but after painting a few nails and allowing 24 hours drying time, they appear just as reflective as the epoxy. Maybe this paint will fade to 'flat black' over time? Not sure.
I hate to ask my contractor to paint each nail head, but seeing hundreds of nails shinning every day from 10am to 4pm isn't working for me either. Not sure I sent this photo before as it is not appearing in this thread. You can see the nail heads on the photo, but of course, in the sun, they are much worse.