New Generation SX Fastener

I wanted to address a reoccurring theme which has been raised in many of the conversations I have had with contractors and customers over the past 12 months and which is a ‘hot topic’ for the industry as a whole -  meeting airtightness requirements and concerns over the impending changes to Part L.

As we all know, airtightness is an increasingly critical factor for any build programme, however many of the reasons for non compliance with the design needs are overlooked until it’s too late. Many of you will have already seen presentations on insulation thickness not being the sole answer to energy efficiency, so I won’t touch on that now.

Instead I will focus on some new solutions which are coming to the market which concentrate on another problem for contractors, speed of fix. We have been working on a new stainless steel fastener range which will revolutionise envelope construction and, I am pleased to say, it is now available in the UK.

Everyone in the building trade knows just how critical onsite time is, so we have ensured that we have incorporated this into our designs. The new self drilling SX fasteners feature a hardened drill point and recessed washer which enable faster installation and also improve structural performance.

Don’t just take my word for it. To guarantee the quality and improved performance, we hosted some trials to test how quickly the new fasteners could be installed. Our results showed that you can drill up to 3 times quicker than all other generic imported stainless screws. Our on-site demonstrations prove fixers can save hours of installation time on a job, which would be a massive benefit to any project, whilst still fixing perfectly every time.

And we didn’t stop there. The range also features a step change thread design with a unique asymmetric ‘sharks-tooth’ profile within the screw thread of the fastener. This gives rapid thread engagement in the sub structure material, providing improved pull-out resistance and greater structural performance.

The drill point is another strong feature - we have made the fastener from hardened carbon steel with a longer pilot point, making it very different from imported general construction fasteners. And whereas many traditional fasteners fail due to premature thread stripping, the advanced SX fastener overcomes this issue.

And reverting back to our opening remarks on airtightness, the SX has a genuine EPDM washer with a new recess design in the fastener head. This helps to prevent washer inversion through overdriving, and EPDM ensures better airtightness compliance over the fastener design life.

At some point many contractors and installers will have had to use multiple fastener stocks but the new SX range, which has three fastener types, reduces the need for this as the individual SX application types each have a broader installation range.

There is a lot more to tell you about the range, but why not see for yourself by watching our online podcast. Better yet, give one of the team a call and we would be happy to talk you through the benefits for your project and give you a demonstration with our I-van at your offices.