If you own a construction company or another type of assembly business, you may be spending a fortune in nails each year, even though some only cost a penny per nail. In order to set a proper budget for your nail supplies for the year, it is important to break down nails pricing and costs into categories. Some nails are used in larger quantities than others and may be considered the most important item on your list of industrial nails.

Ordering in bulk can often save you money. Specialty nails can be the most expensive, coming in at more then $2 for a small fraction of a pound and are not always offered in bulk. Take the following into consideration when drawing up your yearly nail budget:

1. Common and finishing nails can be purchased in bulk for mere pennies per nail.

2. Wire and wood nails are used in smaller quantities and cost more per pound.

3. Specialty nails can break your budget if you aren't careful.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use common and finishing nails

Common nails and finishing nails are the most common types of nails you will use for any project. These types of nails start at around $1.25 per pound, depending on the gauge of the nail. Often sold in 25- or 30-pound increments by a nail distributor, finishing nails cost, on average, 30 cents more per pound than common nails. That can add up to about a $15 difference for a 50-pound order. Although that difference may seem large at the time, remember it breaks down to just a matter of a few cents per pound.

I recommend: Hardware World, a nails distributor, shows the different sizes of finishing nails and how much they cost. Places like Deerso allow you to purchase common and finishing nails by the pound.

Purchase wire or wood nails for indoor projects

Wire or wood nails are often used for attaching wood to wood or hanging pictures in your home or office. Since you will need fewer of these per project, they are often sold in blister packs that are a tenth of a pound or less. For this blister pack, though, you will spend around $1. These nails are more per pound than common or finishing nails, but are used in much smaller amounts.

I recommend: Lowe's gives a detailed guide on how to buy nails. Aubuchon Hardware allows you to buy nails online and shows the various wire nail sizes.

Account for the extra price of specialty nails

Many types of industrial nails are used for a very specific type of project. Drywall nails, for example, are only used for just that -- drywall. You can expect to pay up to $2 for around an ounce of specialty nails. One ounce equals around 20 nails depending on the size. Many specialty nails also have features such as larger heads or thicker threading, which account for the increased cost.

I recommend: F.D.& Sons Hardware displays several types of specialty metal nails. Maze Lumber gives you recommendations as to what to use each type of specialty nail for.

Nails are an important aspect of any construction project, used in a variety of projects. Everything from roofing, drywall, decks, scaffolding, and masonry requires nails. Go online to find the best deals from a nail distributor and have your nails shipped to any part of the country.

Before you search for a nails distributor online to buy nails from, know the options available for finding the nails that best suit your needs, including:

1. Browse online catalogs for all the nail types and sizes you need and compare products and prices.
2. Buy industrial nails in bulk from an online nail distributor for the best price.
3. Contact a supplier of specialty nails for nails of nonstandard sizes, shapes, or materials.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find nail supplies through online catalogs

To find a wide selection of nails in one place on the Internet, find a nail manufacturer that offers an online catalog of all their nail products. Catalogs make it easy to compare prices and products between different manufacturers and suppliers.

I recommend: Grainger has a comprehensive catalog of nail products, making it easy for you to find all the nail supplies you need. Search through different nail categories with handy pictures and descriptions of each nail so you can find the product that fits your project. Browse their catalog or give your exact specifications to find nails of a specific material, finish, size, gauge and length. Find nails of all types from leading brands from National Nail. Use their online catalog to find the brand and nail you need.

Buy nails in bulk to get the best deals

Industrial nails are a commodity you're likely to go through in a hurry, so it's best to start out with a big supply. Buy nails in bulk for a better overall price and have enough for your entire construction project without having to go back to the hardware store to restock.

I recommend: Aubuchon Hardware sells bulk quantities of nails of every type. Find standard nails, or nails designed for any construction project including, siding, roofing, and fencing. For cheap bulk nails, see ToolBarn.com. Buy nails of multiple types from various nail manufacturers.

Find specialty nails online

For nails designed differently or made of materials different from standard nails, look for a supplier of specialty nails online. Contact a supplier of specialty nails for custom designs or finishes you may need.

I recommend: Maze Nails claims title to inventor of ring shank nails, threaded nails that hold better than smooth nails. Check out the catalog of specialty nails on their website. Keystone Automatic Technology produces custom nails from steel, stainless steel, and copper based alloys and will package, heat treat, and plate nails to meet your needs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  For rush projects, contact a nail distributor about expedited shipping. If you are buying a bulk order, nail suppliers may offer deals on free or overnight shipping.

Because of their versatility, different types of nails meet a wide range of needs. Nail key terms describe the parts of the nail, the function of the nail, and the nail design. The term shank is a general term that refers to the body of all nail types. Penny describes how nails are measured. The terms common nail, casing nail, box nail, and scaffold nail all describe a particular type of nail used for a specific project.

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Shank

Some call the shank of the nail the shaft. This part is located between the head of the nail and the point. The main holding power of a nail comes from the shank. Shanks may be different styles depending on the type of nail.

I recommend: Read about the shank of a nail and see images of different shank types from Halex.

Penny

Penny is the unit of measurement used to grade a nail based on size. Larger penny sizes indicate larger nails.

I recommend: Discover more about the term penny from Artlex under nail size.

Common nail

The common nail is the most frequently used type of nail. It has a flat large head. The flat head allows the nail to sit flush with the material into which it is driven.

I recommend: Britannica offers details about common nails along with other nail types.

Casing nails

Carpenters use these nails in fine woodwork. They are found in cabinets and trim molding. Most prefer casing nails because of their small, unnoticeable head.

I recommend: Find out more about casing nails from Solve Your Problem. Scroll down to the desciption.

Box nails

Unlike casing nails, the head of a box nail is larger than the common nail. The shank is also larger on a box nail than on a common nail. These nails have great holding power and work well for framing and decking.

I recommend: Read about box nails from Revive Home.

Scaffold nail, form nail, staging nail

The scaffold nail is often called a form or staging nail. This nail design has two heads. The bottom head functions as a way for the nail to securely be driven into the wood. The top head sits above the wood for the purpose of easy removal. This aspect of the nail is important because a scaffold nail is used for temporary reasons. It is not designed to be a permanent nail.

I recommend: Look at number 14 for more information about the scaffold nail from TPUB.

Nails are one of the most ubiquitous fasteners used today. One need only to look around them to see what fastener holds up the art on the walls or hold the deck together or secure the shingles to the roof.

There is a wide variety of nails, but three types are the ones most commonly used:

1. Common nails

2. Casing nails

3. Finishing nails

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

When to use common nails

True to its name, the 'common nail' is most widely used in medium to heavy construction. It is what you probably picture when you think of a regular nail, with a flat head that is still visable even after it has been hammered into place. Common nails are made from wire and are measured in length by their 'penny size,' with a 2d (or 2-penny) nail being the smallest and a 60d being the largest.

I recommend: Aubuchon Hardware offers common nails in bulk. Grainger allows you to search for common nails by finish, size, and length.

Buying casing nails

Casing nails are used where the nail head must be hidden, and are commonly used to attach trim. They have small diameters and smaller heads than common nails. Casing nails have a conical head, sometimes cupped, and are somewhat thicker than a finishing nail.

I recommend: CornerHardware.com sells many sizes of casing nails and has great illustations of them on its Web site.

Choosing the right finishing nails

Like casing nails, finishing nails are used when the nail head must be hidden. They have small heads and smaller diameters than common nails. These have a barrel-shaped head with a small diameter and a dimple on the top. Once the nail is driven flush with the surface, the point of a nail set is placed in the dimple and the head driven below the surface. This results in a small hole that will either close itself in time or can be filled with spackle or puddy.

I recommend: Ask The Builder has a video that demonstrates how to use a finishing nail. You can buy them for yourself at Reiss Wholesale Hardware.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask the various manufacturers and nail distributor about pricing. Often times you will be able to buy your nails by the pound, saving your company money.
• •  As a rule of thumb, nails should be about three times as long as the thickness of the wood through which it is driven. Nails are normally driven through a thin piece of wood and into a thicker one. This allows 2/3 of the nail to provide holding power in the thick piece of wood.