Ask the Builder: Use the Best Exterior Nails and Screws

The nails that were hammered by hand in the past did not rust, unlike some nails used these days.

Inferior nails were used to attach all of the exterior trim on this house. Rust not only looks bad, but it's also an indication that the fastener is rotting away. Tim Carter/Tribune Content Agency/TNS

I was blessed by God to learn my craft of building and remodeling in Cincinnati. The first few years of my career had me working on houses that were close to 100 years old. I have no recollection of seeing rusty roofing nails on any of the jobs where we had to strip off roofs. I had to spackle exposed nail heads on house siding and trim, but none of them were rusty.

Today I see rust stains on houses where I live in New Hampshire. Some of these structures are less than 10 years old. I had to replace my own asphalt shingle roof a few years ago. It was only 13 years old and many of the roofing nails were rusted and badly corroded. Fasteners used on roofs should always outlast the actual roofing material.