Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System Review

Squeaking subfloors can be a homeowner’s nightmare and one of the hardest things for a contractor to fix once the final floors are installed. Potential problems can be eliminated from the onset in new construction and even renovation work with the new Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System. This system uses the proprietary TetraGrip Subfloor Fastener and the dedicated Paslode PF237C Pneumatic TetraGrip Coil Nailer. These fasteners drive like a nail, yet hold like a screw thanks to their revolutionary “barb-threaded” design, which delivers the holding power of a floor screw. Productivity over using screws is greatly increased because you can drive these fasteners as fast as you can pull the trigger on the nailer.

Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System Features

While the heart of this system is the TetraGrip Subfloor Fastener, what good is a nail without a nailer? In order to drive their new fasteners, Paslode came up with the PF237C Pneumatic TetraGrip Coil Nailer. This nailer weighs in at a reasonable 8.25 pounds and functions like most coil nailers on the market. Thanks to its compact dimensions, getting into corners and tight spaces is not a problem. There is a dual-mode trigger that makes it easy to switch from single-shot to bump mode (as we like to call it), and no tools are required to make the change. The exhaust cap is made of metal, as is most of the rest of the tool. The grip is cushioned, which makes working with the nailer much more bearable. There is a tool-free depth of drive adjustment as well, so that you can make on-the-fly adjustments with ease.

The next part of the system is the Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor fasteners. What is special about these nails is the proprietary nail shank design. While they are driven much like a nail, the key difference is that these nails rotate as they are driven, which actually makes the fastener bond with the wood fibers. As Paslode puts it, these nails enter the wood with rotation and without any destruction to the wood fibers around the nail. The barbed helix shank creates high rotational forces and minimal friction, which provides fantastic withdrawal resistance over the long term.

The TetraGrip fastener is 2-3/8″ x .113 and is equivalent in size to a 6d nail except that the fastener shank is designed so that there is no smooth surface to rub on the subfloor panel. When using regular 6d nails, most codes require something in the neighborhood of 54 nails per panel. According to independent testing, the TetraGrip Subfloor Fastener, which has better withdrawal values, actually makes them equivalent to floor screws in hold-down power. This means that the minimum number of fasteners required per sheet is reduced to 38.

This subfloor nail system is ICC-ES ESR-3071 recognized and compatible (if used as prescribed) with the 2009 International Residential and Building Codes, but if in doubt, please check with your local codes if you have any concerns. Over the course of building a home, this can result in significant savings in time and energy to fasten down a floor. And even with using fewer fasteners, you’re also minimizing the possibility of subfloor squeaks. The nails are sold by the case, and each coil is made up of 120 plastic collated nails.

Testing and Use

By implementing the Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System, we were able to reduce the steps it takes to secure a subfloor. Since our previous method was to use a subfloor adhesive with 6d ring shanks, we had to first apply a bead of polyurethane subfloor adhesive to each floor joist and then proceed to nail each sheet down. Even though we could save on the number of fasteners, we never used screws to secure the panels down because of the increased fastener cost and the time it takes to screw them down.

Pretty much every contractor knows that screws are good for this application, but they are too slow to be practical for any large-sized job. Now, when we heard about the Paslode TetraGrip subfloor nailing system, it made a lot of sense in our minds. We could effectively skip the adhesive, use fewer fasteners per panel, and do it as fast as we could pull the trigger on the PF237C Pneumatic TetraGrip Coil Nailer (and we actually used the nailer in bump mode). Obviously, aside from the installation speed of the system, an added benefit was the virtual elimination of potential floor squeak, which often happens when a nail backs out ever so slightly and causes the shank to rub against the wood subfloor when pressure is applied to the floor nearby.

While we have had the TetraGrip system for a few months now and have had ample time to test the installation, we wanted to test the squeak factor as well. In our particular project, we used 3/4” T&G (tongue and groove) 4×8 sub flooring and fastened it down using only the TetraGrip fasteners. We found that the TetraGrip nailer consistently drove the nails to the depth that we set, and it was only on rare occasions that we had to go back and hand-set a nail with our Stiletto Titanium Framing Hammer. 

Throughout the course of the construction project, with near constant wailing and moving of materials and equipment on the floors, we did not have one nail pop back up, nor did we find a noticeable squeak. Of course, the even longer-term satisfaction of this system is when we do not have any callbacks from the customers six months down the road.

One thing we really noticed about this nailer is that it consumes a lot of air—more than a framing nailer, in fact. We point this out because you will want to use a compressor with a fast recovery time and adequate tank size; otherwise, you will be waiting every 10-15 shots for the compressor to catch up. The reason for the extra air use is the amount of power required to drive the TetraGrip fasteners.

Conclusion

The Paslode TetraGrip Subfloor Fastening System offers the best of both worlds by providing the holding power of a floor screw with the installation speed of a nail. From what we can see in our use and testing, we think that the TetraGrip might be a game-changer down the road as the system builds better availability and a following with contractors. Currently, the availability is somewhat limited, so you will need to follow the More Info link above and deal directly with Paslode. Paslode will, based on need and construction volume, set up a program for you to use the system.

For this reason, we did not give this tool a Value rating since we really don’t have anything to base it on. Our performance rating yielded a rare 10/10 because it tackles a few problems, like installation speed and squeak elimination, and it provides a single-step solution that really works. Boosting productivity and having fewer call-backs sounds like a winner to us!