Fibre cement building materials manufacturer James Hardie has formed a strong alliance with Paslode, as the IM45GN Lithium cordless nailer has become the tool of choice for fixing their HardiePlank® boards at several new build sites in the UK.
On site in Heathfield, East Sussex, carpentry contractors Kent Carpentry Ltd have been using the IM45GN tool with 35 x 2.5mm stainless steel nails, fitting the 8mm thick HardiePlank® weatherboard to timber battening.
In order for the board to be installed successfully, James Hardie have set specific requirements, namely a fixing point at a minimum of 25mm down from the top of the board, a 20mm gap minimum behind plank for air flow and a minimum of 6.5mm fixing head diameter. The IM45GN’s shorter nail option of 35mm (instead of the more commonly used 51mm first fix nails) means that the timber batten can be reduced itself, down to a 38mm thickness – saving both material and fixing costs.
Brian Turner, Director of Kent Carpentry Contractors recently purchased two IM45GN Lithium coil nailers following a demo from Danny Palmer, Contract Specialist for Paslode. At the time Brian was unaware that such a tool existed for this application.
Brian’s team were suitably impressed with the IM45 tool. The biggest benefit experienced has been in the increased speed and productivity that the end users are managing to achieve. The IM45 has proved to be much quicker than traditional fixing methods and, when used alongside the Hardie ‘Gecko Gauge’ fixing the boards becomes a one-man job.
Another big advantage of using the IM45 GN on this application is that the fixing will not overdrive thanks to the 8mm clout head style nails and the relatively low power of the tool, an improvement on the sometimes aggressive first fix nailer or the miss-hit often experienced with a tradition hammer method. Despite the fact that the tool is less powerful than its siblings, the Paslode quality is still obvious and reflected in the handling of the tool and the cleanness of the finish.
Brian says;
“Paslode have offered us some great advice which ultimately convinced us to purchase the IM45 coil nailer. They are a great addition to our Paslode tool family on site. The biggest benefit is the amount of time that can be saved opposed to the traditional drill, and screw method.”
“Many of our guys wouldn’t want to go back to traditional methods as the tool is so much quicker”
The IM45GN tool has been approved by James Hardie for use with Paslode 35 x 2.5mm stainless steel nails.