Siding & Roofing Tool Reviews

With siding and roofing tool reviews you put products into the hands of Pros who are often high off the ground. That’s no joke. If you’re testing a DeWalt DW45RN coil roofing nailer or Paslode CR175C cordless roofing nailer you don’t want to have to stop. We also test out products like the Duo-Fast button cap stapler as well as hand tools. Materials are also a big deal, and testing sheathing, fasteners, and other materials makes a difference. Siding & Roofing Tool Reviews From HardieBoard blades to dust mitigation, siding is taking on new roles in remodeling. Dust mitigation has now entered this industry as well and plays a major role. Having an OSHA fall protection plan now plays a major role in compliance for Pros. While roofing is largely unchanged, new solar tiles and advanced roofing tech may change the landscape. We try to stay on top of the latest developments. We hope our roofing tool reviews and articles can keep roofers and siding Pros up to speed.

Porter Cable C1010 1-Gallon Quiet Trim Compressor Review

Porter-Cable C1010 1-Gallon Quiet Trim Compressor Review

We often use trim compressors to do smaller projects because of their compact size, convenience and mobility. The Porter Cable C1010 1 Gallon 135 PSI Max Quiet Trim Compressor is all of that and more. Overall weight is a very manageable 24 pounds and there is a protective steel roll cage that also doubles as the carry handle, allowing the compressor to be carried in an upright position. Probably the biggest feature of this little compressor is that it is oil-free and quiet. Normally you can’t say both of those words in the same sentence when talking about compressors. Somehow the engineers at Porter-Cable figured out how to make this little guy maintenance-free and you can stand to be in the same room with it when it is running. Our plan was to find out if it really is as good as they say it is.

Duo-Fast DF150-CS Button Cap Stapler Preview

Duo-Fast DF150-CS Button Cap Stapler Preview

If you’ve ever done a roofing job (and most of our readers seem to have some knowledge of this type of work) you’ve laid down button caps to secure felt to a rooftop. That job is made simpler with the addition of pneumatics. We’ve tried several different systems, like the Fasco America SideWinder Windstrips Stapler we reviewed last year. Now, Duo-Fast has a new product, the DF150-CS Button Cap Stapler. This system allows you to shoot staples and plastic button caps at the same time. As you can imagine, it’s perfect for roofing felt applications as well as housewrap. Most jurisdictions not locked to Broward County rules will allow the use of a tool like this on roofing felt and housewrap.

Bosch Coil Roofing Nailer

Bosch Coil Roofing Nailer RN175 Review

Roofing nailers come in many sizes and shapes. Bosch’s Coil Roofing Nailer RN175 provides several advantages that we wanted to test out in the field. By evaluating it in practical use we hoped to see whether this relative newcomer could compete in a market that has been dominated by a relatively small number of stand-out manufacturers for a long time. The attraction of Bosch’s new line of pneumatic tools includes the advanced technology they use in order to eliminate a lot of the volume typically required in order to reset the tool during each firing of the pneumatic piston. In the case of the RN175, we found that while the tool absolutely has less girth than many competing products, the tool still overall has an equivalent heft and bulk to many of its competitors.

Bosch CET4-20W air compressor

Bosch CET4-20W 4 Gallon 2 HP Air Compressor Review

When you’re on the job framing a house there’s nothing worse than having to wait for your compressor to play catch-up. Those days are likely over with the Bosch CET4-20W 4 Gallon Electric Hand Carry Compressor with wheels. Not only is this a convenient tool to carry around, it’s got the volume and fast recovery time to make sure you can keep working, uninterrupted, no matter what the job. We used the CET4-20W on a variety of jobs and it held its own each time, earning it the nickname “Jack” – as in “be nimble and quick.”

Grip Rite Galvanized Coil Roofing Nails

Grip Rite Galvanized Roofing Nails

Grip-Rite’s Collated Coil Roofing Fas’ners are held together with wire and are perfect for use with nearly all coil-style roofing nailers. They are available in sizes ranging from 3/4″ to 2″ in galvanized (both smooth and ring shank), and from 1″ to 1-1/2″ in stainless steel. Each nail has a 3/8″ broad head. We used a box of 1-1/4″ galvanized to, among other things, roofa 400 square foot addition. The nails loaded easily and the coils retained their shape, thanks to the double wire weld collation method. This made loading easy and jams were infrequent, though the last nail in a coil would often fall away loose within several of our nailers.

Iron Dog Tool Gear

Iron Dog Tool Gear

Iron Dog Tool Gear offer amazing quality and a unique ability to set up your work belt rig the way you want it. With their Versa Clip system, you can configure your gear on the move using the many clip points located on the belt and the bags. Beyond the ability to configure your tool belt, you can now actually get the right size and type of pouch you need. With a vast array of sizes, styles, and tool specific pouches and holders you now will be able to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

Hitachi EC119SA air compressor

Hitachi EC119SA Air Compressor Review

The Hitachi EC119SA 4-Gallon Twin-Stack Air Compressor comes with many big compressor features in a compact and portable unit. With class leading power, this unit is ready for action. Featuring a powerful 2.5 HP induction motor that runs at 15 Amps which is coupled to a cast pump iron cylinder that has oversized bearing and is oil lubed.