Send a load for repair
Quantity, footprint and rough condition. We quote per unit repaired.
Everything that happens at the bench.
- Deck and lead board replacement — the commonest repair by a wide margin, because lead boards take the fork tines
- Stringer plugging — a lumber insert fitted into a break and fastened, restoring rated load
- Stringer plating — a through-nailed steel plate across a break; the strongest repair we make
- Re-nailing to the original pattern with stem-threaded fasteners, not simply adding nails until it feels solid
Then it is re-graded as though it were new stock, stamped with a Pallet Passport number and stacked by grade. The repair does not get hidden — it gets recorded.
What each repair does to gradeFour changes that cut your repair rate.
We would rather sell you fewer repairs. It sounds like a strange business plan; it is actually how we keep customers for a decade.
Train on fork entry
Lead board damage is almost always a tine striking the board rather than entering the opening. Thirty minutes of operator coaching pays for itself in a month.
Fix the dock plate gap
A lipped or uneven dock plate hammers lead boards on every single entry. It is the most-ignored cause on this list.
Stop over-loading notch spans
Breaks at the notch are stress concentration. If your load is heavy and racked, you want four stringers, not three.
Store under cover
Moisture damage is almost entirely a storage problem and almost entirely preventable. Off the ground, airflow on two sides, do not wrap damp.
More on the moisture question in Moisture, mould and Mondays.
Fasteners, grades and what a repair does to capacity.
Note the rated-load row in the grading matrix: it is full on A, B and Combo alike. Grade is a cosmetic and repair-history statement, not a strength one.
| Type | Withdrawal resistance | Drive speed | Typical use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth shank | Low | Fastest | One-way economy platforms | Loosens over repeated cycles. Acceptable where the platform will not return. |
| Helical / screw shank | Good | Moderate | Hardwood assembly | Twists as it drives, cutting a thread. Strong in dense species. |
| Stem threaded (annular ring) | Excellent | Moderate | All our repairs, durable builds | Rings bite against withdrawal. The industry workhorse and our default. |
| Staple | Low–moderate | Very fast | Collars, light assembly | Fine for non-structural joints. Not used on deck-to-stringer joints here. |
| Steel plate, through-nailed | Highest | Slow | Stringer break repair | Strongest repair available. Check conveyor clearance before specifying. |
One line in a specification — “stem-threaded fasteners, staggered pattern, driven flush, no protrusion” — is the difference between a platform that lasts two years and one that lasts five. The long version.
| Criterion | Grade A / #1 | Grade B / #2 | Combo | Core / as-is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plugs permitted | No | Yes | In the B portion | N/A — unsorted |
| Companion boards | No | Yes | In the B portion | N/A |
| Stringer repair | No | Yes, plug or plate | In the B portion | N/A |
| Missing boards | None | None | None | Possible |
| Weathering | Light | Visible | Mixed | As received |
| Dimensional tolerance | ±⅜ in | ±½ in | ±½ in | Unchecked |
| Protruding fasteners | None | None | None | Possible |
| Rated load | Full | Full | Full | Unknown |
| Indicative price index | 100 | 62–70 | 75–85 | 30–45 |
| Re-stamped with passport | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Price index is relative, with A-grade set at 100, and moves with the market. Note that rated load is full on A, B and Combo alike — grade is a cosmetic and repair-history statement, not a strength one. Grades explained in full.
| Support condition | What governs | Share of static rating | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor, full contact | Crushing | 1.00 | The largest published figure and the least useful one. |
| Fork tines, in motion | Bending + dynamic shock | 0.35–0.45 | The dynamic rating. What matters for nearly every operation. |
| Racked across stringers | Stringer bending | 0.30–0.40 | Stringers span the beams. The stronger racking orientation. |
| Racked along stringers | Deck board bending | 0.15–0.25 | Deck boards span unsupported. Frequently halves usable capacity. |
| Racked, sustained months | Creep | 0.12–0.20 | Progressive, non-recovering deflection. Floor storage never reveals this. |
| Double stacked | Lower platform crushing | Static rating of lower unit | Do not apply a dynamic rating to a platform carrying another platform. |
Factors are indicative multipliers against the floor-supported static figure, for a standard recycled 48 × 40 GMA stringer platform. Racking orientation alone can halve the usable number.