How to fix nails falling off under the eaves?

Jess-L

Hi everyone

I installed some Eufy outdoor lights under the eaves. Since then, about four nails have fallen off the boards (unsure of the name?) and there is some push on the boards. 

Unsure if it was from the weight of the lights that's pulling them down or was it the hot weather in Melbourne recently creating some movement.

Just wondering if there are studs/wood behind the boards (I can source a stud finder) and what nails/screws/glue can I use to fix the issue ? Should I fix it into the holes where the nails came out or make new ones and patch the holes? 

Jess.

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Jess-L. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about eaves lining.

I strongly suspect the nails that have fallen out were never actually driven into timber in the first place. Under eaves, the lining boards are normally fixed back to timber ceiling joists, often where the join strips are located. For a nail to fully fall out of timber is quite uncommon, even with heat movement or the added weight of lights. Much more often, it means the nail went through the sheet but missed the joist behind altogether.

That can happen quite easily during installation if the joist layout doesn’t line up neatly with the sheet joints. The sheet still gets held in place by surrounding fixings, so it can look fine for years until a bit of movement or vibration exposes the missed fixings, and they simply drop out.

The first thing I would do is grab a stud finder and locate the ceiling joists behind the eave lining. Once you know exactly where they are, check whether the existing nail holes line up with them. If they do, you can refix through the same holes into the timber. If they don’t, you’ll likely need to put new fixings into the correct joist positions and then patch the old holes.

Have a look at the sheets themselves as well. If they’re not sagging or flexing significantly, it’s a good sign most of the fixings are still doing their job and this is just a small number that were never properly fixed off to begin with. Get the joist locations confirmed first, then refix using appropriate exterior-grade screws or nails into solid timber, and tidy up any redundant holes after that.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell