home > our products > carpet grippers
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- introduction
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The carpet gripper also known in the United States as Carpet tack strip or Tackless strip was introduced in the 1930’s to provide carpet installers with a quick and efficient method of installing rolls of carpet. Prior to this time carpets were either simply unrolled loose on the floor or secured by tacks.
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- composition & terminology
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The composition of Carpet Grippers can vary depending on the Country where they are being used and the nature of both the sub floor and the carpet itself.
material
The Phoenix Ryzing range of Carpet Grippers is normally made from five layers of Poplar plywood. Some customers prefer to have two layers of Birch sandwiched between the Poplar. Birch is harder and denser than Poplar and is perceived to hold the pins and nails more tightly. The more expensive birch will increase the cost of the gripper accordingly.
The layers of ply are arranged at right angles to each other to increase the overall strength of the Plywood. Normally the two outer layers of ply are free of knots and other flaws found in timber. The inner layers may have had knots cut out and filled with poplar or birch.
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- lamination, formaldehyde content & cutting
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The layers of ply, after being coated with glue, are subjected to heat and pressure for a specified time to produce the laminated product. The glue may contain varying levels of Formaldehyde which is classified under International Standards as follows;
Grade Formaldehyde Content E2 1.5mg/l to 5mg/l E1 0.5mg/l to 1.5mg/l E0 less than 0.5mg/l
Cutting and Beveling The plywood is cut into widths as required and one edge of the cut gripper is given a 30° bevel. This bevel provides a recess for the edge of the carpet to be tucked into and indicates to the installer the side that should be positioned facing the wall.
The width of the Gripper is taken across the top surface.
The standard length of a Carpet Gripper is 4 feet (1220mm) with the exception of the UK and occasionally the US where it is 5 feet (1520mm)
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- pins
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The Pins are automatically punched into the strip at an angle of 65° to the horizontal. This angles the pin to face towards the wall and allows the carpet to be easily hooked over the pin. It is important that there is consistent spacing between the pins to allow a secure hold of the carpet.
Regular and extra wide grippers have two rows of pins (Total of 52) and Tri-pin and Extra Wide tri Pin grippers have 3 rows of pins (Total of 86).
Pins are slightly recessed into the layer of ply that lies on the floor.
The pins should protrude from the topside of the ply to a height of between 4.0mm to 6.0mm depending on the thickness of the carpet being installed. Our standard product has pins positioned with a height of 5mm. The Sharpness of the pins is essential to ensure that the pin can easily and quickly grab and hold the stretched carpet. This is reflected by the length of taper from the point of the pin.
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- nails
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The steel nails are located in the gripper at predetermined lengths to allow the installer to quickly secure the gripper firmly to a wooden or concrete floor. (A 1220mm strip - 4ft length has 9 nails and a 5ft length has 10 nails). The type of shank used will vary according to the intended usage.
Location of a Nail’s Holding Power Wood sub floor Concrete sub floor Nail Point Holding Power 25% 45% Shank Holding Power 75% 55%
Nail Length: The longer the nail the greater the hold. The only exception to this is with use in hard concrete where a longer nail is more likely to bend. In this case the length of the nail is shortened and the diameter increased.
Nail Gauge: This indicates the diameter of the nail shank and the greater the diameter of the nail, the lower the gauge. As the nail increases in diameter, (reducing in gauge) the holding power of the nail increases.
Coating: A galvanised coating or plating will help keep the nail rust free.
Ring Shank:
The shank has a series of barbed rings down its length which enable the nail to get a tighter hold in wooden or plywood sub floors.
Smooth Shank:
A nail with a smooth shank allows the nail to be driven more easily into concrete sub floors. For very hard concrete, where bending under impact is more likely, a lower gauge and shorter nail is used.
Spiral Shank:
The shank has a screw thread which grips a lightweight (elastical or acoustical) concrete more securely and limits the amount of crumbling around the nail.
Nail metal: Where countries use a high strength concrete mix for their floors we have sourced a special Japanese made high impact nail.
Location of a Nail’s Holding Power Sub Floor Nail Shank Type Nail Length Nail Gauge Number of nails Wood Ring Shank ¾” 13 9 (10 in UK) Hard Wood Ring Shank 1” 13 9 (10 in UK) Concrete Smooth 11/16 12 9 (10 in UK) Hard Concrete Smooth 5/8” 10 9 (10 in UK) Light Concrete Spiral Shank 1 ¼” 12 9 (10 in UK) Dual Purpose Ring Shank 11/16” 12 9 (10 in UK) Difficult to nail No nails n/a n/a n/a
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- types of gripper
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There are two basic types of gripper.
Wood (holding wood penetrating nails) &
Concrete (holding concrete penetrating nails)
Dual Purpose Grippers: Recently Dual Purpose grippers have become more popular. These consist of high tensile, rink shank nails that can be hammered into concrete. The advantage of this, during a period when there is increasing pressure to reduce stocks, is that wholesalers, retailers and contractors can reduce the amount of material that they are carrying.
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- sizes of gripper
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For the above areas of usage there are five different sizes of Carpet Gripper with varying widths and pin configurations. Their use will depend on the difficulty of the installation and the stiffness of the carpet.
regular carpet gripper
22mm (7/8”) wide, 6.3mm (¼”) thick with 2 rows of pins
The lowest cost gripper for use in residential and commercial locations
extra wide carpet gripper
25mm (1”) wide, 6.3mm (¼”) thick with 2 rows of pins
Compared with the regular gripper the pins are set further apart to provide easier hooking and a more secure hold on a stiffer carpet. This means that the nails are also farther away from the wall making it easier to cleanly hammer them into place.
tri-pin carpet gripper
32mm (1 ¼”) wide, 6.3mm (¼”) thick with 3 rows of pins
Where, previously, installers would use a double row of grippers this gripper provides easier hooking and a more secure hold on stiffer carpet in more difficult installations. Savings are made in both time and money.
extra wide tri-pin carpet gripper
44mm (1 ¾”) wide, 6.3mm (¼”) thick with 3 rows of pins
These are for use in larger commercial installations where stiffer carpets are likely to be encountered.
no nail carpet gripper
All of the above Gripper types can also be used without nails for use in locations where it is extremely difficult to use them.
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- customer requirement
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The above shows the range of options available to a customer. However, customers will have specific requirements which may also include formaldehyde ratings or a nail with a specified gauge and type of shank. They may also require grippers without nails.
We can easily accommodate such requests within the overall supply of a minimum quantity of a 40foot container.
We simply need your specification which will include the following:
Length of gripper 4ft or 5ft Type of gripper: Wood, Concrete or Dual Width of gripper: mm or inches Height of pins: mm Type of nail: Type, Length & gauge Special requirements: Packaging:
