16ga vs. 18ga Nailer for Pine Trim Work...

[Bill Rodgers]

Hi guys. I have a bunch of baseboard, door, and window trim/casing to install all pine and 2 rooms to install tongue and groove paneling in next month. I don’t have much experience with nail guns but am going to buy one for this.

What size nail/brad gun should I get to do both? I’m thinking either a 16 gauge or 18 gauge?

Thanks for any feedback.

[Mike Ontko]

Hi Bill,

I don't know whether your question can be answered direclty. Both of the tasks you've mentioned would require different length and guage nails, unless the panelling you're referring to is made from 3/4" stock and not 1/4" sheet panelling.

For the molding and casing work, I would use a 16 guage nailer with 2" to 2-1/2" nails that can reach through the drywall and sink into the framing underneath. For outside corners on crown molding and potentially on door and window casings, I'll even use an 18 guage nailer for pinning the mitered corners together, if needed while the glue dries.

I'm mainly experienced with the removal of sheet panelling, where adhesive and ring shank nails appear to have been a preference in the past. I've installed a T&G looking sheet product as a wainscot, and it can go in with short 18 guage brads and a good panelling adhesive.

(disclaimer - I'm not a professional contractor, though I've renovated 2 homes...and slept in a Holiday Inn once or twice )

[lowell holmes]

As Mike said, 16 ga X 2 to 2 1/2" nails for base board and door casing, except shorter nails for the casing to door frame.

18 ga. is used for lighter trim. In the spirit of our hobby, you need one of each.

[Jerry Olexa]

I recently used 23 g on some trim and the brads virtually disappear vs. using a 16g or 18g..

[John R Green]

16 ga 2"

[Bill Stephenson]

New woodwork in living room & dinning room,all oak used 16 ga. I have 18 but it was to light for the work.

[Jim Dwight]

I put baseboard and casing in about 800 square feet of our house over the last year using nothing but my Ryobi 18 gauge brad nailer (battery powered). I mostly used 2 inch brads. The base was mostly low density fiberboard but some was finger jointed pine. The casing was all finger jointed pine (it is all painted). I have pneumatic 16 and 18 gauge and also a 23 gauge pinner. I used the pinner on the returns for the casing under the windows.

The 16 gauge would be more reliable to hold trim in place but the 18 gauge worked fine for me and makes a smaller hole that is easier to fill for painting.

If you have a compressor, pneumatic nailers are inexpensive (especially HF). If you don't already have a compressor, the Ryobi is an option. They sell a 16 gauge too, but at over $100 each, it costs more to add devices than it would with pneumatic ones.

[Tom Ewell]

Get 15,16,18,23 gauges and you're covered for most all trim needs.
You can get by pretty well with 16,18
You can make do with 18 2" capacity
Grab some 2p10, fav wood glue, const adhesive and put in the kit as well.

[Keith Weber]

I've done many miles of pine trim. Pine is a very soft wood. I find that the 18-gauge nails are too fine and will pull through the soft wood. It makes a smaller hole, but you end up putting a lot more holes in to get the same holding power as I get with my 15-gauge nailer. The 18-gauge nails will twist up like a pretzel if you hit a hard knot in pine as well. When it does, it'll mangle the soft wood around it. It's very rare that I have a 15-gauge nail reverse directions on me. An 18-gauge has its place, but in my opinion, it's in the case at home when you're working with pine trim.

If you're painting, the larger hole won't make the slightest difference. I apply a bit of spackle applied with a 1/2" x 2-1/2" strip of plastic cut out of one of those clear plastic packaging jobs that gets you cursing when trying to rip it open. It leaves the spackle flush. If you use your finger, the flex in your finger will leave it slightly below flush, leaving a dimple. Spackle will swell ever so slightly, so the next day, one or two light brushes with some 180 or 220 grit sandpaper, and you'll never see the holes after painting. Don't use wood filler. It's too hard when sanding in pine.

Also get a nail gun that uses nail strips with angled nails. You'll be able to get into a lot tighter spaces than with a 90-degree nailer like the 18-gauge variety.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Get 15,16,18,23 gauges and you're covered for most all trim needs.
You can get by pretty well with 16,18

I hate it when someone asks a simple this or that question & gets an answer that says you really need this that & the others....
But...

Tom is pretty much spot on. There is no one "perfect nailer". Each one has it's place.
Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop before you start, and run out to get a tool more suited to the job because the one you planned on using isn't working out.

[Jim Dwight]

I hate it when someone asks a simple this or that question & gets an answer that says you really need this that & the others....
But...

Tom is pretty much spot on. There is no one "perfect nailer". Each one has it's place.
Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop before you start, and run out to get a tool more suited to the job because the one you planned on using isn't working out.

While I agree that each nailer has it's place, and I own all but the 15 gauge (and a framing nailer and staplers) I don't agree this is one of the "run to the store" risk situations. I put up a casing that is 1 inch thick at the outside. So I have occasionally used my 16 gauge finish nailer with 2 1/2 nails to reach the studs. But I found it worked fine to nail through a thinner section of the casing (and that is where the studs were) so the 18 gauge worked. If you want to be safe putting up trim, a 15 or 16 gauge nailer with a selection of nails will do it. 1 tool. I can and have used nothing but a 18 gauge. I think the OP will eventually want more pneumatic tools but a finish nailer is a good place to start.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I don't agree this is one of the "run to the store" risk situations.

Well, as the owner of a few 18 ga. brad nailers, some 1.25" and one 2" and a couple nail/staple combinations - a couple of framing nailers, a palm nailer, a flooring nailer/stapler, a 16 ga straight and a 15 ga angled - - - - plus the requisite manual hammers.... we're going to have to agree to disagree.

It's all about having the right tool to do the job - - and - - all it takes is one bad experience to send you out the door running to pick up the right tool...

These days, I prefer to calmly browse the best deals beforehand, buy what I will need when the price is right rather than run out in a panic once the work is underway .

[Jim Becker]

For light trim, I use a 23 gage pinner if glue is involved. For other trim, I'll use an 18 gage brad nailer for the lighter stuff and my 15 gage angle nailer for heaver trim...the bigger fastener head has better holding power. I do not own a 16 gage brad gun.

[Ole Anderson]

My old Bostitch 18 ga only takes brads up to 1-3/8", but it has served me well for all of my base and casing trim, but then all of my trim is Oak or Hickory. I don't have a 16 ga gun, but my 15 ga gun IMO is too big for that work. It does work fine though for installing door jambs. There are times, using 3/4" thick trim and 1/2" drywall that the short 18 ga brads are just too marginal and I wish I had the new 18 ga gun that takes 2" brads. I have the 23 ga pinner, but haven't tried it on anything but very small trim. My trim is all stained and with the 18 ga used on the base, I don't feel that it needs filler to hide the holes. With the 15 ga, yes, then it needs filler. For casing work at eye level, everything gets filled.

[Phil Thien]

I use the Ryobi 18V stuff. I have the brad nailer:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18-...P320/203810823

They also have now introduced an 18V 16-gauge nailer:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18-...P325/204667878

I'll probably get one of those, too.

I also have pneumatic stuff (quality, Bostitch gear) that I'd use if I were doing a lot of nailing. But most of my work is trimming out a window or two, or a door (or two). So the cordless is handy for that.