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If you have a metal deck job specified on your plans, you will need a tool to connect the side lap. You have two primary options for side lap connections: button punch or Punchlok II. It’s common to have questions about which sidelap connection is right for you.

Maybe you have done a few metal deck jobs and had to attach the sidelaps using a button punch tool. You might have been able to borrow this tool free of charge or you just had to pay to rent the tool. Whatever the case, you are now ready to own your own button punch tool.

So you’re a contractor and you have a small metal decking job. You do not know what a button punch is, you have no idea how to button punch metal decking, and you do not know where to borrow, rent, or buy a button punch tool. You’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. Don’t worry this blog will quickly answer all of these questions.

If you install metal decking regularly then you already know that the most popular sidelap connection specified on projects is the button punch connection. You also know that the only way to accomplish a button punch connection is with a button punch tool.

The most common type of sidelap connection for metal decking is the button punch. To perform a button punch, you will need to use a button punch tool. But where can you find one of these tools? And how do you go about renting or purchasing one?

So you have metal decking spec’d on the plans for your project. You are tasked with installing it. Did you know that there are different ways to connect the sidelaps? Also, the name of the panel often (not always) indicates how the sidelaps are connected.

Size matters when deciding which metal deck system is best. It’s important to consider the size of your job when determining which metal deck system is best for you to use.

An installation cannot be done correctly without the right tools. When it comes to metal decking, two of the tools most often used are either a Button Punch or a Punchlok II/VSC2 for side lap connection.