Long, thin nails

[Milleniumaire]

Sorry to ask such a basic question, however, I've recently had to remove some oak skirting to enable a new floor tile to be replaced.

The skirting was glued and nailed and the nails used are around 50mm long, but very, very thin as a nail gun was used to fit the skirting.

I've removed all the adhesive from the skirting and cut the protruding nails back to avoid making a mess of the front of the skirting (I didn't want to push them back through) and it is now ready to be re-fitted.

Ideally, I would like to use similar long nails, but can't seem to find anything in this length and thinness, unless I purchase some nails used by a nail gun.

Now obviously nail guns are brilliant at firing nails into hardwood and breeze block at speed, hence the nails can be thin and won't bend, but I don't have a nail gun, so wondered if I would be able to hammer nails this thin. I would guess they are 50mm x 16 or 18ga, but I'm no expert.

I'm looking at these on Screwfix: DeWalt Galvanised Straight Finish Nails 16ga x 50mm

Would it be possible to hammer these through hardwood into breeze block or would they simply bend?

Thanks.

 

[crank39]

You won't hammer anything thin through oak other than with a nail gun, my advice would be to just stick it on with no nails or silicone like it was before, you'll find the nails were there just to hold it in place while the adhesive went off

 

[Milleniumaire]

Thanks, I suspected as much.

Unfortunately, one of the pieces of skirting is quite long and needs to be "pulled down" at either end as the floor isn't perfectly flat, so nails will definitely be required for this. It's just my luck that the tile needing to be replaced was at an external corner and the skirting to both walls are long pieces!

 

[crank39]

That's no bother still, put the skirting against the wall with the silicone and then weight each end down like this with bricks or such like

http://www.carpentry-tips-and-tricks.com/images/boardpushskirtingdown.jpg

 

[^woody^]

Pilot drill the holes first

 

[FiremanT]

Push skirting into desired position (with no nails or similiar), and peg down with a largish nail above the skirting, but don't drive fully home. When NN gone off, remove nail. Fill nail hole. Simples. If I understood you correctly