Home Depot has a huge selection of different nails and among the hundreds of thousands of nails, there are one that you can use for stucco too. They will usually have nails for nailing off stucco wire, you just need to know what type of nail to look for!
Roofing Nails:
Roofing nails are the most common nail that is used for wood framed houses and will be the easiest to find, too. These are roofing nails, but they are perfect for stucco lath because they are galvanized and come in many different lengths, including the lengths we need for a 3 coat and one coat stucco system.
3 Coat Stucco System: For a three coat stucco system, you will want to use a 1-1/2" roofing nail and if we look on Home Depot's website, we can see that there are a few different options to choose from:
- A 1 pound box
- A 5 pound box
- A 30 pound container
- A 50 pound container
1 Coat Stucco System: If you are working on a one coat stucco system, then you will need longer nails, to compensate for the thickness of the foam, which is usually 1' thick. You will need 2-1/2" roofing nails for these types of systems, which should be long enough to make it into the stud. The options available are:
- A 1 pound box
- A 5 pound box
Availability: These were the options that were available to me and a couple of options were out of stock, so you may want to check a few local stores before you make the trip to go get some yourself. Your options might differ from mine. Another option, would be to check availability online for these nails, as they are usually in stock and fairly close in price, most of the time.
Masonry Nails:
Masonry nails are used when you need to attach lath (usually expanded metal lath) to a concrete or cinder block wall. These nails are hardened and can take the extra abuse of driving them into these harder materials without bending or breaking, like a regular nail would.
The two sizes that are usually used for these types of walls were available (3/4" or 1") and were available in two different sized boxes:
- A 1 pound box
- A 5 pound box
I was only able to find the plain masonry nails sold at Home Depot and I would have like to find a galvanized version because the carbon steel ones tend to rust almost instantly. I was able to find some online though and thought it was worth mentioning for anyone out there that might want that option too.
Stub Nails:
Stub nails are basically just like masonry nails, but they are galvanized, so they will work better than standard carbon steel masonry nails. Home Depot had 5/8", 3/4" and 1" options to choose from (the most popular sizes for stucco wire) but the 3/4" option was not in stock, which is what I like to use.
These are also used for concrete and other masonry type walls and I was only able to find these types of nails available in:
- A 1 pound box
Note: If using masonry nails or stub nails, I would recommend using a magnetic punch to protect your hands from being smashed by your hammer. These nails take quite a bit of force to get to penetrate harder surfaces and you will want to be careful when driving these into these types of surfaces.
Ramset Nails:
Ramset nails are used for one purpose, and that is fully cured concrete. Masonry or stub nails are made to be driven into concrete walls, but sometimes the concrete is too hard to drive the nail in far enough to attach the wire to it.
This is where Ramset nails come in. they are fired into the wall and will usually work every time, if the right charge is used. I was able to find 3/4" and 1" nails available.
You will need some type of power actuated tool to fire the nails in though, which are sold online and at Home Depot, if you don't already have one.
