Duplex nails is used for formwork lumber, and the use of duplex nails allows for the more easier removal of nails from formwork lumber after the pouring of the concrete. A person using duplex nails will note that there is two heads to the nails. One head will be flush with the lumber, while the other head will be raised above the lumber.
This raised head of the nail allow for the nail to be removed with a pry bar or a hammer without damaging the formwork lumber. In order to understand how to best construct and use duplex nails in the building site, it is first important to understand the construction of the nail. A duplex nail is constructed with a steel shank with a sharp tip, and the head of the nail are flush with the lumber.
How Duplex Nails Help Reuse Formwork Lumber
The sharpened tip of the nail allow for the nail to be driven into the lumber, while the lower head allow for the nails to be securely held within the lumber during the pouring of the cement. Furthermore, the raised head allow for the nails to be easy removed from the lumber, which help to prevent the destruction of the formwork lumber by the construction site. In order to use duplex nails effective on a construction site, a person must purchase the correct size of nails for the construction task that is to be performed.
For instance, two-inch duplex nails are best used in the creation of light staging or scaffold plank. Three-inch duplex nails is necessary for wall forms or concrete slabs. For heavy deck forms or beam forms, the construction site should utilize duplex nails that are up to five and a half inches in length, as they will allow for the nails to be grip through doubled up headers.
Using the correct size duplex nails will ensure that the nails effectively holds the forms in place, while also preventing the waste of construction material. Beyond the size of the nails, other feature of the nail impact its function on a construction site. Smooth shank duplex nails are easily removed from the wood, so they are ideal for tasks in which a person desire to use the lumber again.
The barbs on the ring shank type of duplex nail allow those nails to be more secure within the wood, making them the better choice for situations in which a concrete pour will be placed into the forms at high pressure, which may cause the wood panel to bow. Additionally, there are different type of coatings for different environments in which the formwork will be set up. For instance, if the forms will be exposed to wet conditions, the nails should be galvanized.
Finally, if the wood within the forms is dense, the nails should be vinyl-coated to assist with driving the nails into that type of wood. The method in which a person can remove the nails from the wood is one of the primary reason why duplex nails are used in place of standard sinker nails. Standard sinker nails often cause the wood to splinter during the removal step of building forms.
However, because a person can easily slide duplex nails out of the wood using a pry bar under the upper head of the nail, the formwork lumber dont have to be destroyed in order to remove the nails. Thus, one benefit of the use of duplex nails is that the lumber can be used in the construction of formwork for multiple builds, reducing the cost of the lumber that is purchased for a construction site. The different types of lumber that may be used in the construction of forms has an impact upon the type of duplex nails that must be used.
Woods that are softer than others, like spruce-pine-fir, will allow the nails to be driven into the lumber more easy. These types of woods are often used for constructing residential structure walls. However, woods that are dense with high concentration of wood fibers, like Douglas fir, require the use of ring shank nails that will hold more securely within that type of wood.
The use of the incorrect type of nail for a specific type of wood may lead to the failure of those forms. Duplex nails are tool that facilitate the construction and demolition of formwork. Their protection of the lumber used to build forms, the speed with which the nails can be removed, and the ability of the formwork to be frequently and easy reused all indicate that these nails are beneficial to the building process.
Thus, by appropriately selecting the size, type of shank, and the coating of the nails, a builder can increase the efficiency of the construction site.
