The 10 Best Nail Guns For Concrete

Editor's Notes

December 07, 2020:

Without much evolution in the category since the last time we visited it, this was a relatively uneventful round of updates. The only option we ended up removing was the Hitachi NC40G, which has been discontinued.

My original suspicion was that this discontinuation was simply due to the company’s 2018 rebrand, which left a new line of virtually identical, like-model-numbered Metabo HPT tools available for former fans of Hitachi. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Not only was Metabo HPT not offering a replacement for the NC40G at the time of this update, but it also appears to be offering no replacement for the CM75EBP — another nail gun rated for concrete that Hitachi used to offer. A conversation with a representative from the company didn’t provide us with any insight as to why these tools have been discontinued, or if and when a replacement will be offered.

This is purely speculative, but I can’t imagine that it’s easy to engineer a tool up to this task, and I wonder if an inordinate amount of warranty claims on these units led the company to remove them from their lineup, if they felt the current design wasn’t living up to their brand’s standard of quality. Notably, the Makita GN01 – a cordless option that could fire fasteners as long as 1-9/16 inch – has also been discontinued without an apparent replacement.

If you need a nailer like this regularly at work, then there’s no doubt that they can save you hours, compared to most powder-actuated alternatives, but pneumatic models also require you to show up to the job site with an air compressor, an air hose and maybe even an air hose reel — which can be quite a pain. Of course, battery-powered models – like our new addition: the DeWalt DCN890P2 – provide an easy workaround for this, but if you’re looking at these tools simply to fire a few fasteners for a small home renovation, perhaps you’ll be interested in checking out our list of powder-actuated tools, which can be more affordable at the lower end (though just as expensive at the top of the category).

You’ll also want to be careful that the nailer in question is capable of accommodating the right length of fasteners for whatever job you’re hoping to take on. Some models in this category can only fire nails as long as an inch, while others – like the Freeman PSSCP – can handle hardware up to three inches long. We noticed that the Senco SCP40XP presented conflicting information, claiming to have a 1-1/2-inch magazine, yet purportedly only being able to accommodate 1-1/4-inch hardware. As the company didn’t get back to us with a comment in time for the publication of this update, we played it safe and went with 1-1/4 inches for the purpose of our description.

January 22, 2019:

We realize people have different needs when it comes to buying a concrete nailer. Contractors will require a much more powerful and durable model than a consumer doing a one-off job on their home for whom price will be a major factor in their buying decision. Because of this, we strived to include a variety of tools that are well-suited to each of these needs. We also made sure to include both gas- and air-powered options.