Cordless is convenient, sure, but I've found pneumatic nailers way more reliable when dealing with storm-damaged roofs—especially if you're working fast to beat incoming weather. Batteries dying mid-job can be a real headache... learned that the hard way.
"Batteries dying mid-job can be a real headache... learned that the hard way."
Had a similar experience last spring—was halfway through a green roof retrofit when my cordless nailer battery unexpectedly gave out. Pneumatic has been my go-to ever since, especially under tight weather windows. Reliability trumps convenience in critical moments like these.
Had the cordless vs pneumatic debate plenty of times myself. Last summer, we had a pretty big reroofing project on an older home—steep pitch, tricky angles, you name it. Thought I'd save some time and hassle by going cordless. Started out great, but about two-thirds through, one battery died and the spare wasn't fully charged (rookie move on my part, I admit). Ended up losing almost an hour waiting around for it to charge enough to finish up.
Since then I've stuck with pneumatic for anything substantial. Sure, dragging around hoses and compressors can be annoying, but knowing the tool will fire every single time is worth it. Reliability is king when you're racing against weather or daylight. Personally, I save the cordless guns for quick patch jobs or smaller repairs. They're handy as hell in those situations, don't get me wrong—but when a job's on the line, I'd rather deal with hoses than risk downtime.
I get why people love cordless—convenience, portability, no compressor noise—but in roofing, downtime costs money. And let's be real, roofing isn't exactly a forgiving trade when things go sideways. A few minutes quickly turns into lost hours or worse, callbacks. Learned the hard way that when it comes to nailers, convenience doesn't beat reliability.
"Sure, dragging around hoses and compressors can be annoying, but knowing the tool will fire every single time is worth it."
I totally get where you're coming from with reliability. Last spring, I tackled a smaller roofing job on my garage—figured cordless would be perfect since it wasn't huge. Started off smooth, but halfway through, the nailer started acting up... nails weren't sinking fully, and I had to stop every few minutes to adjust settings or swap batteries. Ended up taking way longer than planned.
After that experience, I borrowed a pneumatic setup from a buddy for another project, and honestly, the difference was night and day. Yeah, the hoses were a bit of a hassle at first, but once I got used to managing them, everything went like clockwork. No downtime, no frustration—just steady progress.
For quick fixes or small repairs, cordless still has its place in my toolbox. But if I'm ever facing another bigger roofing job, I'm definitely going pneumatic. Lesson learned the hard way...
Haha, sounds like my cordless drill adventures—great until halfway through the job, then it's battery roulette. Curious though, anyone tried those hybrid nailers that switch between cordless and pneumatic? Wonder if they're worth the extra bucks...
