Written by Stucco Champions — Southern California’s Authority on Exterior Plastering.
Stucco Nails: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Depot’s Selection
While pneumatic staples are the industry standard for high-speed stucco lathing, there is still a critical place for the traditional hand-driven stucco nail. For small patches, tight corners, or concrete substrates where a staple gun cannot penetrate, the right nail is the difference between a solid repair and a loose, rattling wall.
Home Depot carries a specific selection of masonry fasteners. However, picking the wrong one (e.g., non-galvanized) can lead to rust bleeding through your finish coat within months. This guide breaks down exactly what to look for in the fastener aisle.
1. For Wood Framing: Galvanized Roofing Nails
If you are attaching wire lath to wood studs (the most common scenario), you need a fastener with a wide head to trap the mesh.
- Product: Electro-Galvanized Roofing Nails.
- Length (3-Coat): Use 1-1/2 inch nails. This allows enough penetration into the stud to support the weight of the cement.
- Length (1-Coat): Use 2-1/2 inch nails. Because One-Coat systems have a 1-inch foam layer, a shorter nail won't reach the wood framing securely.
- Availability: Sold in 1lb, 5lb, and 30lb buckets in the roofing aisle.
2. For Concrete/Block: Fluted Masonry Nails
You cannot drive a roofing nail into concrete; it will bend. For block walls or foundations, you need hardened steel.
- Product: Fluted Masonry Nails (often blue or silver).
- Why Fluted? The vertical grooves on the shank cut into the concrete and provide grip friction so the nail doesn't back out.
- Warning: These are brittle. Wear safety glasses. If you hit them off-center, they can snap and fly off like a bullet.
3. The "Stub" Nail: Short & Strong
Sometimes a 1-inch masonry nail is too long to drive into hard, cured concrete.
The Solution: Concrete Stub Nails (approx 5/8" to 3/4").
Technique: You cannot hold these with your fingers (you'll smash your thumb). You must use a magnetic punch tool or needle-nose pliers to hold the nail while you strike it.
4. Ramset (Power Actuated) Options
For large concrete jobs (like attaching lath to a tilt-up wall), hand nailing is exhausting.
The Tool: Ramset Powder Actuated Tool (sold in the tool aisle). It uses a .22 caliber charge to fire a hardened pin into the concrete.
The Consumables: Buy the specific Ramset pins with washers. The washer acts like the head of a roofing nail to hold the wire mesh down.
Never use "Bright" or "Vinyl Coated" sinker nails for stucco.
Stucco is wet cement. It will rust standard steel immediately. That rust will expand (Rust Jacking) and crack the stucco, then bleed orange stains onto your paint. Ensure every nail you buy says "Hot Dipped Galvanized" or "Electro-Galvanized."
Conclusion: Check Stock Online
While Home Depot carries these items, stock varies by region. In Southern California, they usually have plenty. In other regions, you may need to check online inventory before driving to the store. For specialty items like Furring Nails (nails with cardboard spacers), you may still need to visit a dedicated Lath & Plaster yard.
Last week, we shared What Is EIFS Stucco? Fastening to EIFS requires different washers—read this to learn more.