Hidden Fasteners for Deck

S

skids

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Oct 14, 2012
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Lots of choices, and I imagine the best one would vary based on the decking material one is going to use..In my case I am just going with PT..Has anyone any experience with the hidden fastener systems in softwood? I don't like huge gaps in my deck since it tends to vary alot with PT and this seems to be a side effect of most of these systems. I also need the ability to tear out a board here and there as they rot. Although I suppose it doesn't matter if it's rotted just cut it out anyway.

I will probably just face fasten with small head screws..I actually made my last deck look like it had hidden fasteners by filling all the nail holes and using a nice sikkens solid deck stain. Last for many years with no problems. Since I am redoing the decking wanted to explore my options.
 
Glue?  Haha j/k!

The only issue with PT is that it shrinks so much and all these hidden systems utilize some form of spacer. There's a system iirc that mad basically a piece of "L" angle, it mounted to the joist and you screw up from underneath. I know it's tight (2 1/2' you said)...but that would allow you to free a board easily down the road.

Just a thought!
 
builderbob said:
Glue?  Haha j/k!

The only issue with PT is that it shrinks so much and all these hidden systems utilize some form of spacer. There's a system iirc that mad basically a piece of "L" angle, it mounted to the joist and you screw up from underneath. I know it's tight (2 1/2' you said)...but that would allow you to free a board easily down the road.

Just a thought!
Click to expand...

Agreed!

I think you are referring to the Deckmaster or Shadoetrack systems..I will have to give those more review time, they look very cool. Since all the decking is off I can install easily without having to get underneath-I am seeing my right nagle chuck coming into play here. It would be sooooo nice not to see the fasteners, and I can still get underneath the deck fairly easily for the occasional removal of a board if needed. Good suggestion!
 
I have used the HID Fast system, works great and is very quick. Not inexpensive though.

Have you looked into the Kreg Deck system or Camo? Don't have experience with either but have heard good things.
 
I used the CAMO system which worked really well but with PT you will end up with gaps as the CAMO has a built in spacer. I like it because there are no clips or anything to deal with and it's fairly economical and quick
 
Just a dumb question - are there double sided nails for decking? something with a mid collar that allows it to be spiked into the bearer, then you hammer the plank on from above?
 
Hey   Look into the Camo Marksman Pro-X1    it is designed to be used with PT and only leaves a 1/16" gap    

i haven't used the X1 but i do use the regular Camo Marksman (3/16") and its a great system    you can notice the little holes in the groves when installed but it is so much nicer than face screwing or nailing    

compared to the kreg system it is much faster, no spacers to loose, no pre drill, no flipping the jig around...

you can remove an installed board from the middle of the deck with the camo system also which is nice for future maintenance

Good luck with the deck, let us know how it turns out!

John
 
I was looking at the Kreg deck jig but haven't used it.  It looks like it keeps the boards fairly tight, but I suspect it would be pretty time consuming especially on a big deck.  Also it seems to require use of their screws, but there may be others that work with the fixture.

Jeff
 
Some time ago, This Old House or Ask This Old House showed a Domino making mortises for a kind of deck fastener.

Now on Shane's ETA page it says those fasteners are NAINA and there are no plans to bring them to NA.
 
There is no way I am mortising PT decking anyway..Thats like putting lipstick on a pig..Best suggestion yet has been the under deck fasteners but they aren't cheap.
 
For pressure treated, top screw it. Block in a section, snap lines with white chalk or baby powder. As long as the screws are neatly done and not over driven it looks fine.

By the way, I have used the Festool Domino deck system. Got to test it about 3 years ago.

Tom
 
I've done several redwood decks with the Fastenmaster system.  It is time consuming but shouldn't be a problem with a small deck.  My best advise is to use all those great woodworking clamps you own and work from the open side vs from on top of the board you are fastening screwing upside down. Also predrill the ends, even though you don't "need" to.  When PT dries it splits, and all those fasteners that went in super easy are all where your splits will start.  
 
I built a deck for my house about 10 years ago and also wanted invisible fastening but could not afford any of the manufactured options out there at the time. I used my standard issue Kreg pocket drill guide and drilled the joists. I alternated drilling on each side of the joist for every new row of decking so I did not have all the holes on the same side of any given joist.

It was certainly slower than face screwing (much slower), but added nothing in terms of material cost and has held up fine. The deck boards have not loosened or moved and the joists are also in good shape.

I used typical ceramic coated flat head deck screws, I know pan heads are better for pocket screws but I wanted the ceramic coating and these were readily available. For unruly boards I pulled them tight to the joist with a clamp before driving the screw so I did not need to overdrive a screw to pull a board tight to the joist.

j
 
ccarrolladams said:
Some time ago, This Old House or Ask This Old House showed a Domino making mortises for a kind of deck fastener.

Now on Shane's ETA page it says those fasteners are NAINA and there are no plans to bring them to NA.
Click to expand...

Ok, what about the sipo Dominos, pre-drill a hole in the center of the domino use them as the deck fastener, one screw thru the predrilled hole inbetween the boards. Just an idea?

[smile]

Festoolviking
 
Hi there,

Wauw, I dint know about this domino deck stuff either... would have definitely used it if known.
At home we have Larch boards with some plastic home depot deck fasteners. Its a bunch of crap. There's not enough "meat" on the fasteners and likely the boards werent exactly dry enough being fastened in the place they are, full sun most of the day. (and here in Finland we have like sunshine 300 days a year + 30 C degrees LOL) Anyways, we have to, after about a year after installment, fix them with screws at places.

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Regards,
Mauri
 
And... wauwtsy wauw,

I could actually upload photos.. I have tried (to) often but never managed to do so for the last year or so (before that without probs). I'm outside on the outdoor kitchen reading this post and looking to my left at the boards of my patio crawling up and... took a few pics with my phone and posted them. Peter, are you seeing this?

Happily amazed,

Mauri
 
[thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up] 
 
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