What Makes a Construction Fastener Sexy?

The term “sexy” doesn’t exactly mean what it used to. We all know its traditional meaning, and may have a mental picture of what we think it looks like to us, but it actually means so much more nowadays. The term is widely used today to describe a myriad of things, rather than a person.

Take a sports car for example. You've likely heard someone define a “roadster” as sexy because it’s got great curves and looks great on the road, or maybe because it has that racecar sound. Or food. They use the term sexy all the time on those cooking shows to refer to the appeal that a meal has when you look at it. In that realm, the word sexy replaces the word appetizing. How about technology? A recently released smart phone was marketed as sexy. It may or may not appear sexy to you, but the technology behind it becomes very desirable for those who are tech-savvy. And what about the movies? Filmmakers and critics commonly refer to movies as “sexy" all the time.

We could go on and on with examples, but the real question here is: Can a fastener be called sexy? And if so, what makes it that way? We think the answer is "yes!" and here’s why:

• Versatility – This fastener has to be able to be used in many applications, with many different materials such as wood decking, composite decking, fencing, outdoor furniture, formwork, crating and subflooring.
• Finish – The type of fastener has to come in different finishes such as bright, electro-galvanized, FasCoat®, Stainless, and painted so it will match the job.
• Fast - A sexy fastener must be able to be installed twice as fast as collated screws and eight times faster than bulk screws.
• Adaptability – It must work with several types of nailers and virtually anywhere that screws are used.
• Holding power – A sexy fastener must have holding power that’s dramatically increased vs. traditional nails.
  • Flexibility – This fastener must have the ability to be removed, repositioned and replaced in less time than it takes to say “I guess fasteners can be sexy.”
• Drives – It must come in multiple drives such as star, philips, pozi, square, and versa
• Reputation – This fastener has to have an excellent standing in the market
• Multiple Threads- It must come in various threads, like:
  • Fine – for better hold
  • Coarse – for best removal
  • Double Threads – for composite materials so they don’t get the “mushrooming” effect
  • SteelThread – for use with steel studs

Now can you see what makes a fastener sexy? With all of that style, versatility and speed, it seems that “sexy” is actually a pretty good description of this fastener.

Lucky for you, the BECK Fastener Group® offers this very fastener: it’s called SCRAIL® and it’s got a reputation alright – it’s The Faster Fastener®. SCRAIL® collated fasteners are the incredibly versatile fasteners that can be driven with a pneumatic nailer at a rate twice as fast as collated screws and eight times faster than bulk screws. They offer dramatically increased holding power versus nails, while gaining the added benefit of easy adjustment and quick removal. Customers can rely upon SCRAIL® fasteners to have the bite to hold strong, without callbacks to fix a squeak or a nail pop. Here’s a look at some of the types of SCRAIL® on the market today:

• Subloc® PRO SCRAIL® – Used in flooring applications, this beauty was developed to avoid those annoying subfloor squeaks that come from movement of the wood.
• Mini-SCRAIL® fasteners – These have all the advantages of SCRAIL® fasteners but are designed for smaller applications like furniture manufacturing.
• BeckDeck® - Developed for decking applications to avoid the “volcano” affect that occurs when screws are driven into wood.
• INVISIDECK® - This hidden SCRAIL® Fastener System was designed for grooved boards: both exotic and composite.
• Jumbo SCRAIL® - Designed for heavy duty industrial applications.

The BECK Fastener Group ® has been the leader in the manufacturing of new and innovative construction fasteners for over 100 years. The SCRAIL ® family of fasteners offers a product to meet most every construction need including the highly praised fasteners they have created for use in wood furniture decking and virtually every other type of building project.

These innovative SCRAIL® fasteners offer a unique cross-functionality combining a screw and a nail and are known as The Faster Fastener® due to the speed at which they can be driven and the savings they can provide. 

For more information about the BECK Fastener Group® please visit fascoamerica.com and view the SCRAIL® video.