A staple is described by two numbers, and both of them matter. The crown is the width of the bridge across the top; the leg is how deep the fastener goes. Get the crown wrong and the staple tears through the material or fails to hold it; get the leg wrong and it either misses the sheathing or blows through the far side. Dry-in season starts now in Los Angeles, and housewrap, felt and lath are exactly the assemblies where an inspector notices the wrong staple. This guide covers the crown widths we stock, how to pick a leg length, and which gun runs what.
Crown width decides what the staple can hold
Crown width is the single most useful number on the box, because it tells you how much material the fastener spans. A wide crown grips sheet goods that a narrow one would cut straight through. A narrow crown leaves less of a mark on finished work.
| Crown |
Gauge |
Typical Use |
Common Leg |
| 1/4 in. narrow |
18 |
Trim, cabinet backs |
5/8 to 1-1/2 in. |
| 3/8 in. medium |
20 |
Felt, insulation, tacking |
1/4 to 1/2 in. |
| 7/16 in. medium |
16 |
Sheathing, housewrap |
1 to 1-1/2 in. |
| 1 in. wide |
16 |
Lath, wire, sheathing |
1 in. |
| 1/2 in. flooring |
15.5 |
Hardwood flooring |
2 in. |
Two things the table cannot carry. The first is that crown and gauge move together for a reason: a wide crown on a thin wire would fold before it drove, so the 1 in. wide crown staples we stock are 16-gauge, while the 3/8 in. hand-tacker sizes run 20-gauge or thinner. You cannot mix and match the two numbers freely.
The second is that "medium crown" covers a range, not a size. A 3/8 in. medium crown hand-tacker staple and a 7/16 in. medium crown gun staple are both called medium, and neither will run in the other's tool. Read the actual dimension on the box rather than the category name.
Housewrap, felt and the dry-in stage
The weather-resistive barrier is where staple selection turns into an inspection item, because the fastener has to hold the sheet through wind before the cladding goes on and it has to not tear the sheet in the process. A wide crown does that job: the 1 in. crown x 1 in. leg 16-gauge galvanized staple is the workhorse for wrap and lath over wood sheathing, and the crown spreads the load enough that the sheet does not start a tear at every fastener.
Roofing felt is a lighter duty and a hand tacker usually covers it. The T50 mixed-length pack keeps 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 in. legs in one box, which is what you want when the deck thickness changes across a reroof. Our guide to synthetic versus felt underlayment covers which of the two you should be fastening in the first place, and the roofing fasteners guide covers where cap nails displace staples entirely.
One Los Angeles-specific note. Synthetic wraps and underlayments sit in strong sun for weeks here while a job waits on trades, and a staple that is holding a sheet only at the crown will start to work an oval hole around itself under that kind of thermal cycling. Cap fasteners exist for that reason, and on long dry-in windows they are worth the upgrade. Our housewrap guide sets out the lap and flashing sequence the fasteners are supporting.
Lath, insulation and wire
Stucco lath is the other place a wide crown earns its keep. The staple has to hold self-furring lath off the sheathing and stay put while three coats of material go on over it, which is a shear job as much as a withdrawal one. Wide crown 16-gauge is the standard answer, and hot-dip galvanized is the right coating anywhere the assembly will hold moisture.
For batt insulation, the requirement inverts. You want the lightest fastener that will hold a flange, because the point is to keep the facing flat without compressing the batt. A 20-gauge medium crown such as the 1/4 in. leg 504IP divergent point is plenty, and the divergent point resists pulling back out of soft framing.
Ceiling tile, wire and cable each have their own answer. We stock 17/32 in. ceiling tile staples for grid and tile work and insulated 1 in. cable staples for running low-voltage and NM cable, where an uninsulated staple driven too hard is a code problem rather than a cosmetic one.
Coating: where stainless is not optional
Most interior staples are bright or electrogalvanized steel and that is the correct, cheapest answer for anything that stays dry. The decision only gets interesting once the fastener will see moisture or sit against a reactive material.
Hot-dip galvanized such as the 3/4 in. hot-dip galvanized staple is the general exterior grade, and it is what belongs behind lath and wrap on a normal LA job. Stainless is the step past that: the 504SS1 T50 stainless and the 18-gauge stainless narrow crown are the ones to use within a mile or two of the water, in cedar and redwood, and anywhere the fastener sits behind a finish that a rust bloom would ruin.
Treated lumber deserves the same caution as the coast. Modern preservative chemistry attacks plain and lightly coated steel, so a staple going into treated material should be hot-dip galvanized at minimum.
Matching staples to the gun
A staple has to match the tool on crown, gauge, leg range and collation, and a box that is wrong on any one of those will not run. Hand tackers such as the heavy-duty T50 manual staple gun take the T50 family and nothing else; the compact 4 in. heavy-duty gun is the one to keep in the pouch for tacking and light insulation work.
Pneumatic guns are fussier. An 18-gauge narrow crown stapler runs 1/4 in. crown legs from about 5/8 in. up to 1-1/2 in., and we carry that ladder in 5/8 in., 7/8 in., 1-1/4 in. and 1-1/2 in. so you can size the leg to the job rather than buying one length for everything.
The rule for leg length is the same as it is for nails: the staple should land at least an inch into solid material where it is carrying a load, and about three times the thickness of what it is holding where it is only tacking. Our guide to finish, brad and pin nails covers the crossover point where a narrow crown staple beats a brad on cabinet backs and thin panel stock.
The full range, including flooring staples, N-style medium crown and the T50 sizes, sits in the staples collection. We deliver across Los Angeles County; send the gun model with the order and we will match the box to it.
Ordering for a dry-in
Buy for the stage, not the year. A dry-in typically needs one wide crown box for wrap and lath, one hand-tacker box for felt and paper, and a narrow crown box for the odd panel and backer. Three boxes cover almost every wall on the job.
Count on more than you think for lath. Fastener spacing on lath is tight, and running out mid-wall on a Friday is the classic way to lose a Monday inspection slot.
Frequently asked questions
What crown staple should I use for housewrap?
A wide crown, typically 1 in. at 16-gauge, driven into sheathing or framing. The wide crown spreads the load so the sheet does not tear at the fastener, and on long exposure periods cap fasteners are a better choice still.
What is the difference between narrow, medium and wide crown?
The width of the bridge across the top of the staple. Narrow is about 1/4 in. and used for trim and panel work, medium runs roughly 3/8 to 7/16 in. for tacking and sheathing, and wide is around 1 in. for lath, wire and housewrap.
How long should the staple leg be?
Long enough to reach about an inch into solid material where it carries load, and roughly three times the thickness of what you are holding where it only tacks. Deck and sheathing thickness set the number, not the material on top.
Can I use the same staples in my hand tacker and my pneumatic gun?
No. T50 hand tacker staples and collated gun staples are different families with different crowns, gauges and collation. Check the crown dimension, the gauge and the leg range printed on the tool before ordering.
Which staple coating do I need in Los Angeles?
Electrogalvanized indoors, hot-dip galvanized behind lath, wrap and anything exterior, and stainless near the coast, in treated lumber, and in cedar or redwood where a rust stain would bleed through the finish.
Are staples allowed for stucco lath?
Yes, and wide crown galvanized staples are standard for lath over wood sheathing, subject to the spacing and penetration your approved assembly calls for. Check the plans and the lath manufacturer's instructions, because the required schedule varies with the system.
