Penny size is a term that refers to the length of a nail. The term comes from Colonial era pricing unit for nails, which were priced by the hundred. For example, one hundred 2 1/2" nails would have sold for eight pennies. This method has been adopted with today's wire nails.

A steel cut nail with a dark, powder gray finish which can be clinched; not a hardened nail.

A nail which has been heat-treated and tempered for special hardness.

A zinc coated nail, hot-dipped in molten zinc to resist rusting. Can usually be clinched. Not a hardened nail.

Although nails that have been galvanized have a brighter silver shade to them, they are recommended for outdoor projects because they do not rust. Standard nails will rust and can cause streaking of the wood. There are instances, however, where a project called for that authentic streaking look, and the nails were slightly rusted prior to application to speed up the process.

The most popular nails for flooring are the Decorative Wrought Head, Common Standard, Common Rosehead and Fire Door Clinch. Any of these nails will hold equally well, so your choice is for the style you prefer.

If you are counter-sinking your nails the best to use is the Common Standard. You can also sink the Common Rosehead and Masonry nails. For other uses, the Box nail, Headless Brad, Flooring, and Fine Finish nails can also be counter-sunk.

When installing random widths, try to stagger the different widths to avoid the appearance of a repeating pattern. Each order is shipped with a width tally which provides the total lineal feet of each width. This report will help you in planning your random pattern.

The Decorative Wrought Head nail is great to achieve the antique Colonial look. Although, some prefer to use it on the walls because the head protrudes from the floorboards. The nail can be set into the wood, but it is a time consuming process and detracts from the hand-hammered look of the nail.

The general rule of thumb is 3lbs per 100 square feet of flooring based 16" on center. For a more accurate estimate for your particular application, please call Tremont's customer service department at 1-800-842-0560.

There could be several reasons for splitting. Check to see that you are lining up the long side of your nail with the grain of the wood. If you nail against the grain your nail is acting as a wedge to split the wood. If your nail is longer than 1 1/2", you may want to drill a small pilot hole to help ease the nail into the board. If you find that the pilot hole is not large enough, widen it to the thickness at just below the center of the shank and try again.

When used correctly, face nailing wide plank flooring will help to minimize or  prevent cupping and bowing. Any board 8" wide or less can be nailed two across. Planks from 8" to 12" in width should have at least three nails across. Larger planks should have no more than three inches between the nails. All nails should be at least one inch from any edge of the board. If you are nailing less frequently than 16" on center, consider using more rather than fewer across the board.

Most orders ship within two to three days of being ordered. Due to the weight of cut nails and to save on shipping costs, orders are shipped UPS ground. Expedited shipping is available and quoted on request. We will confirm stock at the time of order placement.

The term "Rosehead" is sometimes used in reference to hand forged nails because of the multi-faceted head. The Tremont Common Rosehead and Clinch Rosehead nails do not look hand forged at all. They are a decorative headed nail for flooring, siding, and other projects. There is a small dimple in the center of the head that serves as decoration for those who want a fancier nail, but do not like the hand forged look of our Decorative Wrought Head nail.

Manufactured 'cut nails' were first introduced in the late 1700s. These machine-produced nails were manufactured much more efficiently than their hand-forged predecessors. Tremont Decorative Wrought Head nails are indicative of the previous style, since up until that time nails were wrought by hand.

Cut nails are preferred by those who are trying to keep their project historically accurate. Our cut nails are very similar to the first nails made at Tremont, so they match well the nails that may already exist in your house or furniture. Others like the Tremont nails because of the interesting look the provide a project. Cut nails provide superior holding power because of their four edges. A cut nail tears through the wood fibers, rather than splitting the fibers as wire nails do. This minimizes surface splitting of the wood.

All Tremont nails are made from flat sheets of steel. The Masonry, Flooring and Common nails are made with a high-carbon steel. All others are made with low-carbon steel. Some nails are galvanized after cutting. For a more authentic look, the Decorative Wrought Head nail is given a black oxide finish.