staple type for lightweight plates?

Jamie_5

Is there a particular size of staple recommended for fastening lightweight heat transfer plates? I found lots of information on fastening extruded plates, but I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that the methods necessary there are overkill for lightweight plates. I am a homeowner who will be installing plates to 3/4" strapping in two ceilings and to 3/4" plywood (sandwich method) for one floor. If anyone has any recommendations for a stapler, that is also welcome, but please bear in mind that I have only this one job to do, so price is a much bigger issue than durability.

hr

The same stapler

used for the heavier plates, BUT, you need to adjust the air pressure down. It will take a few trial and error adjustments.

I use a Senco SNS45, and it will shoot through anything! Even into the very dense subfloors like AdvanTech and Plytanium!

This is the middle sized Senco, their lighter model finish stapler may work on flashing thickness plates.


I think if you look around you may be able to rent a stapler from a took rental, or even some shops that sell tools.

I would imagine the "big box" stores rent just about any tool on their shelves Just ask.

hot rod

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johnnyd

fastening plates

The pros, who need to get in and out and on to the next job as fast as they can in order to make a living, use staplers and I've also read a number of them on this board use air coil shingle nailers. I've DIY'd both sandwich and staple up with light wieght plates with nothing more than a hammer and four shingle nails per 6"X16" plate for the sandwich, and six #10X1/2" sheet metal screws per plate on the staple up driven with the trusty 9.6V Makita.

The sandwich turned out totally quiet after finish floor, jury still out on the staple (screwed) up.

There seems to be alot less deformation (which causes noise?) of the plate when the fastener is driven close to the center line of the plate, almost right next to the edge of the groove.

Noisy plates, of course have as much or more to do with water temperature and control strategy as installation. As a DIY'r, figure your time at $XX per hour, and see if you can justify buying or renting a tool versus doing it by hand.

Jamie_5

Thanks

> The pros, who need to get in and out and on to

> the next job as fast as they can in order to make

> a living, use staplers and I've also read a

> number of them on this board use air coil shingle

> nailers. I've DIY'd both sandwich and staple up

> with light wieght plates with nothing more than a

> hammer and four shingle nails per 6"X16" plate

> for the sandwich, and six #10X1/2" sheet metal

> screws per plate on the staple up driven with the

> trusty 9.6V Makita.

>

> The sandwich turned out

> totally quiet after finish floor, jury still out

> on the staple (screwed) up.

>

> There seems to be

> alot less deformation (which causes noise?) of

> the plate when the fastener is driven close to

> the center line of the plate, almost right next

> to the edge of the groove.

>

> Noisy plates, of

> course have as much or more to do with water

> temperature and control strategy as installation.

> As a DIY'r, figure your time at $XX per hour, and

> see if you can justify buying or renting a tool

> versus doing it by hand.



for the advice. As a DIYer with a day gig, tool rental is almost never a rational choice. But your successful experience with shingle nails and Tom Tesmar's success with 1/4" crown staples leads me to conclude that the wider crown staples people apparently use on extruded plates are unnecessary for lightweight plates. And the prices are low for relatively narrow crown staplers. So I think I'll try an inexpensive air stapler in the 18 gauge range.

Jamie_5

Thanks

for the advice. As a DIYer with a day gig, tool rental is almost never a rational choice. But your successful experience with shingle nails and Tom Tesmar's success with 1/4" crown staples leads me to conclude that the wider crown staples people apparently use on extruded plates are unnecessary for lightweight plates. And the prices are low for relatively narrow crown staplers. So I think I'll try an inexpensive air stapler in the 18 gauge range.

johnnyd

My point

I think my point is: How much total time will a task like fastening plates take in proportion to the other tasks involved in a DIY radiant floor?

In my experience, by far the most time consuming task in a DIY sandwich was loading, unloading, staging, ripping to width, staging, cutting to length, cutting the 180*s, screwing down, the 4X8 sheet goods. Almost makes me want to compare all that work with using just using 1X12 pine boards for sleepers.

Anyway, the time consumed by fastening the plates in the grooves pales by comparison...so hammering in four shingle nails from the top versus buying an air stapler and dragging a compressor and hose around seems like small potatoes. I think Tom uses an electric stapler though.

Besides, I like the idea of the shingle nail head having all that surface area bearing on the plate, versus the much smaller area of whatever kind of staple...which is why I think a coil shingle nailer would be the cat's meow for fastening plates under the subfloor.