Kalvin Whalley of Kal’s Construction in Queensland wanted to see how the new Paslode PPN-Master would handle fixing joist hangers and multigrips onto aged hardwood joists and the main beams of a very large deck. It was the right tool for the job.
Kalvin Whalley isn’t put off by a tough job. In fact, he makes a living specialising in residential and commercial renovations around the country that many other builders might toss into the ‘too hard basket’.
At Kal’s Construction he looks for tools that can handle the tough jobs too. He’s a big fan of Paslode.
“We had to redo the deck on the front of a two-storey house. It was beginning to fall down so we needed to prop it up and do all the joist hangers and multigrips back onto all of the joists and main beams. We were putting James Hardie decking boards up so there was extra weight on the deck. It wasn’t just a standard timber deck.” We were looking for a way to do it right.”
Kalvin says a lot of people use a standard coil tool to attach metal connectors but those nails don’t meet code.
“Previously we would have hand nailed it, but because of time constraints that wasn’t going to happen. That’s when the PPN came up.”
After a bit of research Kalvin thought the Paslode PPN-Master would do the trick. He called in the local Paslode rep for a demo.
Tony Ryan, Paslode Trade Specialist in Queensland says when he got to the site and saw how aged the hardwood was, he thought it would be a mighty test for the tool.
“On full depth drive adjustment, the PPN was punching the nails home which surprised me and Kal’s Construction too!”
Kalvin says the PPN-Master was really good. “Really lightweight, smooth running – no misfiring or anything like that. It is exactly what we were after—something that is going to be legal, easy to use and ticks all the boxes.”
Kalvin has found with other PPN tools you have to hit the nail dead straight to the metal connector otherwise the nail bends as it starts to impact drive the nail into the timber. Because Paslode PPN-Master shoots the nail in with one shot, this doesn’t happen.
“One thing that stands out from other PPN nailers is the locating pin that locates the hole on the multigrip or joist hanger and how it shoots the nail straight through that pre-existing hole in the hanger. That’s something that no other PPN tool has and it’s useful.”
Kalvin also runs a few of the Paslode Coil Master tools to get in and out with ease.
“We nail all our cladding up with Paslode nails. The Coil Master we use a lot of because we do just get in and do bits of finicky work here and there. It is perfect for all of that. The Coil Master fires out nails quick enough. It is about getting the nails in the right spot rather than smacking a million nails in and going at full tilt. We have never had any delays for the guns to catch up.”
Another big plus Kalvin likes about the Paslode PPN-Master is that he can shoot the nails on an angle which sometimes needs to be done when the joists are closer than 450mm centred.
“Anyone who is looking at an impulse tool, they should be looking at Paslode. It comes recommended for sure.”
