Decking Fasteners

Decking fasteners should not be the weak link in your overall decking plan. Novice carpenters sometimes tend to neglect the details, such as the quality of hardware such as nuts, bolts, nails, and decking fasteners. This is a huge mistake, for if these parts are of substandard quality, they can compromise the entire structure of the finished deck.

Quality decking fasteners are usually either made of corrosion-free stainless steel, galvanized metal, or plastic materials such as polypropylene. These fasteners are specifically designed to be used with pressure-treated wood, which is one of the most common wood materials used in decking construction.

About Hidden Decking Fasteners

Hidden decking fasteners work through a system of slots and grooves. These long grooves are cut into the edges of the decking boards, and the decking fastener is inserted into the slot and held in place by a special type of screw. Some hidden fastener manufacturers claim that their products are less labor intensive than other fastening systems, such as metal tracking.

Some plastic decking fasteners have been known to warp when stressed, but big names in plastic fasteners such as Ipe Clip insist that this isn't so. Hidden fasteners are a handy invention, for they don't stick up over the surface of the wood to cause problems later. Hidden fasteners can't get caught on snow shovels or furniture legs, nor can they stub any toes running across the deck. Yet they still do the job of securely fastening the deck parts into place.