The construction of frame houses is gaining popularity: they are relatively cheap and comfortable. In classic projects of houses and structures made of stone, brick and other materials, truss systems are made of wooden elements, so the issue of reliable connection of beams, timber or other wooden elements is constantly relevant. Recently, the nail plate has been widely used - a novelty among fasteners, which has successfully replaced nails, dowels and screws.
Design and material of manufacture
From the name it is clear that the nail plate in its design is a strip of metal with an analogue of nails. Its thickness is from 1 to 2 mm, the dimensions vary from 40 to 200 mm in width, and the length can be any. Different manufacturers have their own size standards. Most often, nail plates are produced with a length step of 25 mm.
The starting material for manufacturing is high-strength alloyed or galvanized steel sheet. In production, it is cut into plates of the required size, and then thin protrusions up to 8 mm long are squeezed out on a special press. They play the role of nails, firmly entering the wooden structures.
Scope of application
Any wooden structures that are interconnected must have an overall rigidity to maintain load-bearing capacity and prevent deformation of the entire structure. Fasteners that best cope with this task are nail plates. They are used in residential, public, industrial construction during the construction of frame wooden structures and the installation of truss systems.
Uses
The production of wall panels, wooden trusses or arches is carried out in production workshops. Structural elements are fixed in conductors or other devices and connected with a nail plate using a press. This connection method is the highest quality, but it is not always possible to apply it.
At the construction site, the use of nail plates using a press is not possible. They are simply hammered and at the same time they monitor the uniformity of the entry of the protrusions into the tree.
Key features
The popularity of nail plates is due to their advantages over other types of fasteners:
- possibility of connecting elements in the same plane without significant protrusions on the surface;
- low dead weight, which reduces the overall weight of the structure;
- the use of nail plates allows you to mount complex systems in stages without the use of heavy construction equipment;
- reducing the total cost of the object being built (prices are quite high, but the fasteners in question are relatively inexpensive);
- the use of a plate increases the rigidity and strength of joints in composite structures;
- installation of the nail plate is quite simple and does not require specialized knowledge.
Existing shortcomings
This type of fastener is not without its drawbacks, of which the most significant are the following:
- low strength and stiffness under bending loads at the junction;
- manual installation of nail plates does not always provide maximum rigidity and strength of the connection;
- to obtain a quality structure with accurate design dimensions, a site with perfect evenness is needed.
Types by tooth arrangement
Manufacturers often try to lower the price of the building material they produce. One way to do this is to simplify the design and manufacturing technology. In this regard, most of the used nail plates are of the simplest and cheapest type with unidirectional teeth. But there are other options that are used in critical structures: with multidirectional teeth in adjacent rows and with teeth located at an angle of 45 degrees tolongitudinal axis of the plate. These options are more difficult to produce, and therefore the price of building materials for these types of fasteners is somewhat higher.
Classification and manufacturers
In the LNG countries, the classification of MPZ (metal-toothed plates - the name of nail plates according to GOST) is adopted by thickness: MPZ-1.0, MPZ-1.2 and MPZ-2.0 are made with a thickness of 1.0, 1.2 and 2.0 mm, respectively.
In Western Europe, a popular standard is the bi-directional gang-nail key from manufacturers in Sweden, Germany, Poland and Finland. In Hungary and neighboring countries, Arpad nail plates are popular, which stand out for their high strength. The price of one plate, depending on the type, size and manufacturer, ranges from 10 to 120 rubles.
