Shims

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Author Message Vivian Volz, RA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: vivianvolz Post Number: 127 Registered: 06-2004 Posted on Friday, June 18, 2010 - 01:52 pm:    What are the important qualities of shims? And for what systems are they most important? (This is kind of a brainstorm question: I'm looking for keys to success and war stories.) So far, I've got: Compressive strength Size (thickness, footprint) Shape (flat or wedge, U or block) Dimensional stability (no creep/deformation) Resilience Impact resistance Fire resistance nonstaining to stone won't rot, feed mold, or feed insects ease of use (color coding, stackable) What am I missing? When are certain qualities important? Thanks! (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, June 18, 2010 - 02:38 pm:    Use in multiples as spacers to establish and maintain level or plumb. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 339 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 - 10:18 am:    Corrosion resistance? George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 538 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 - 12:19 pm:    Vivian- Just out of curiousity, if you can reveal it, are you writing a product master for a shim company, or an article about shims? George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Cannon Design - St. Louis, MO Vivian Volz, RA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: vivianvolz Post Number: 128 Registered: 06-2004 Posted on Monday, June 21, 2010 - 02:48 pm:    It's marketing literature for a shim company, George. A selection guide for shims. Thanks, Wayne. Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 968 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 12:56 pm:    compatibility with the item being shimmed -- ie, will not transfer color, oils, imprint, or corrode the thing being shimmed. Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 240 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 01:03 pm:    I hate the trend to market everything from a sustainablity standpoint, but you did say it is for marketing literature, so here it goes: Recycled content Rapidly renewable content Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified wood or wood product No added urea formaldehyde Made by singing nuns only on sunny days Vivian Volz, RA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: vivianvolz Post Number: 130 Registered: 06-2004 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 02:56 pm:    Thanks, Anne! Steve, I doubt that shims will rise to the cost or weight percentage threshold that makes their recycled content matter to most people, but some people might care. The no added urea formaldehyde criterion is interesting: wouldn't want to ruin your indoor air quality credit with a chunk of scrap particleboard. A couple of more specific questions: When does impact-resistance matter (or in what systems)? Is there a guide somewhere for hardness/resilience ranges for shim selection? (GANA, perhaps?) Thanks! Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 340 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 03:18 pm:    http://www.glazelockshims.com/products.htm http://www.glazelockshims.com/pdf/specsheet.pdf http://www.solarstop.net/mrshims/windowshims.asp http://www.solarstop.net/mrshims/stainlesssteel.asp Curt Norton, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: curtn Post Number: 167 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 11:22 pm:    Since when do marketing people care if their green claims mean something? <grin> John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1220 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 02:23 pm:    Hardness or resilience depends on the loads applied to it. That could be a way the mfr could distinguish itself--help figure that out. With blast resistance and hurricane resistance, the loads on a shim used for fenestration could be high. From personal experience: Shims need to be designed so that they can be trimmed to fit behind the trim that covers them up without damaging their effectiveness as a shim. They also need to (reasonably) stay in place, and in a stack while they're being put in. Vivian Volz, RA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: vivianvolz Post Number: 131 Registered: 06-2004 Posted on Friday, June 25, 2010 - 05:54 pm:    Thanks, John! Picturing the shim in action helps. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 429 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Friday, June 25, 2010 - 07:52 pm:    There are so many shim applications. Very thin metal ones are used, I believe, in heavy machinery.