Where to start, where to start?  So many business books, lecture series, and online seminars exist offering secrets and takeaways to surviving in competitive markets.  This could easily turn into a bullet list of suggestions, but we would rather offer a secret that your competitors may not even know about just yet!

As a distributor of construction tools, fasteners and parts, we have great respect for well-done construction. We believe every job you take on should be completed with skill, care and attention to detail. A well executed job should last. But just because it’s built to last, doesn’t mean it needs to be built slowly. Here are some top reasons why we love pneumatic tools, combination fasteners and the speed they provide.

The Steel Framing Alliance indicates that more than 40 percent of commercial structures are now built with metal studs and nearly 500,000 homes have been built with steel framing over the past decade.  Times have certainly changed as steel studs have gained popularity. Even though they are more costly than the traditional wood stud, they offer superior quality and strength to the structure once installed. 

The life of a basement staircase is typically not all that exciting.  In many instances it’s a basic structure built when the house was constructed that still stands bare.  If it’s time to renovate a basement, don’t overlook those trusty, yet uninteresting stairs.  Now’s the time to rework them (if possible) into the new design.  Or at a very minimum, make sure they are appealing and safe now that the basement is going to be finished and getting more traffic.

When interacting with homeowners, contractors can make or break a sale depending on how well their interactions go. Oftentimes, it’s not the contractor’s experience or portfolio that loses the sale; it’s the homeowner’s own insecurities. There are so many unknowns in home remodels that clients often feel too much internal pressure and bail on the project or keep searching for the “right” contractor. The good news is that there are a few things contractors can do to minimize fears and win homeowners over.

The topic of construction fasteners isn’t always fascinating. They are simply tiny pieces of metal we use to join two pieces of material together.  If it’s a quality fastener and installed properly, you never have a second thought about that one piece of metal. But, if it’s poorly made or poorly installed, that little piece can give you big problems. Here are the characteristics of a good fastener.

A good fastener needs to be usable in multiple applications and environments. A few examples include decking (both composite and traditional wood), fencing, crating, subflooring, framework and hobby building. Some jobs are better suited to a nail, some to a screw. A combination fastener can give you the best qualities of both traditional options.

Finish options

Once you find a fastener that fits your project, you need to select from multiple finishes that vary in both cost and style. Exposed fastener work may require stainless steel. If you don’t have the budget for it, another option is the SCRAIL® which can be electro-galvanized or FasCoat® plated.

Which type of roof to purchase and install is a big decision for every homeowner. Second to the roof is the home’s siding. The siding gives the home a certain look and also protects the structure and insulates it from the heat and cold. Homeowners want low maintenance siding that does not cost much to maintain or repair. In this article we will discuss why metal siding is a top option for many homeowners.There are many options available for siding material including metal. Metal is very low maintenance even in areas where there is severe winter weather. Snow, sleet and frost do not really affect metal, and it does not absorb moisture or promote the growth of mold or fungus.

With other siding materials, homeowners may have to spray regularly to prevent insect damage and infestation, but insects do not like metal so there is no need to spray.

Metal roofing is the second most popular roofing material for both residential and commercial contractors (first place in residential is steep-slope asphalt, single-ply roofing for commercial).

Metal roofing is economical, sustainable and versatile, and consumers are continuing to become more aware of the benefits of installing a metal roof. As this happens, it is quite possible that one day metal will become the number one roofing material for residential and commercial construction.

Cost-saving benefits of metal roofs include a life of 40+ years, lower maintenance costs, durability to withstand severe acts of nature, lower heating and cooling expenses, and a shorter installation time.

Humans feel an innate desire to be out in nature, especially after a long winter hiding indoors. Warm weather brings with it the chance to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Like all creatures and plants, the sun gives us energy and lifts our spirits. But we also have grown accustomed to the amenities of modern living. We don’t just want to sit in the yard so we developed a way to bring the inside to the outside with decks!

New Coarse Thread Crating SCRAIL® fasteners are the latest innovation from the BECK Fastener Group®, designed to help crate manufacturers save labor costs while improving quality and customer satisfaction.

Like BECK’s other SCRAIL® products that are known for their holding power and speed of installation, Crating SCRAIL® fasteners are a combination of a nail and a screw - threaded collated fasteners for installation with a pneumatic nail gun tool.

The added features of Crating SCRAIL® that make them the best choice for use in crating are:

• Coarse threads ensure easier and more consistent removal for dismantling crates, and are especially well suited to crates constructed of soft wood varieties
• Use of plastic rope for collation makes it safer, since there is no wire flagging around the heads or sticking underneath them
• Plastic rope collation also retains its coil shape better than wire, which means coils can be reused if dropped, eliminating waste
• These fasteners can be used in most common 15° wire coil nailers on the market, so there are no special tools required

Brett McCutcheon, General Manager of FASCO America®, Master Distributor for the BECK Fastener Group®, commented, "We are excited to offer a SCRAIL® product specific to the needs of crating manufacturers. We took our successful SCRAIL® product and added features to create these coarsely threaded Crating SCRAIL® which allows crating manufacturers to more effectively and efficiently build and dismantle crates.”

FASCO America® is the Master Distributor for products manufactured by The BECK Fastener Group®, a leader in pneumatic tool and fastener development. For over 100 years, the BECK Fastener Group® has been a company focused on creating innovative, high quality products that generate time savings for the professionals who use their products.