Any experience w/ Hidden deck fasteners?
Hi all, I’m building a large deck in the backyard….about 1k sqft w/ stepped-down section and Tiki bar. I’ve read the latest mags that talk about which type of composite boards are available, but I’m interested in learning which fastener type is the most reliable over the long run. I’m in Va.Beach, so the weather is not too severe. I’ve toyed w/ Ebtye and Tiger Claw but can’t decide which to go with. Any suggestions?
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This topic comes up quite a bit. On the left side of the screen, look for the search button and check the archives, you will find lots of info there.
I've used eb ty with Ipe and it works very well and looks good. Eb ty is very good but adds a lot of time on to the project. It is easy but a lot more time than screwing or nailing. I don't know very much about tiger claw.
If you have easy access to the underside of the decking then I would look at deck master, I think that would be much faster than eb ty.
http://www.deckmaster.com/
Thank you, I 'll read up and learn!
I strongly recommend against the deck master. It fastens against the side of the joist, and then you screw up from underneath into the wood. Drawback: you don't have a screwhead sandwiching the board to the top of the joist, and with a 5/4 piece, you have at most 3/4-1 inch of thread in the deck board. As soon as the wood shrinks, which it will do more severely in the decking than in the framing, the threads lose their bite and POP goes the board. I did a deck where the HO demanded it, and less that a year later, he (not me) was out there, drilling, counterboring, screwing and plugging the entire deck!
I do not have experience with any other hidden fastener system. Good luck!
Neil
Installed the Correct Deck system on a nice house last summer. This uses a T-shaped plastic part that screws to the top of the joist between deck boards that have a slot formed along their edge. Also makes spacing automatic and perfectly even. 'Course, this could be a downside if your rim joist parallel to the wall isn't really parallel. Can't give you a real long term report, but a year later it looks great and is holding up (and down) well. No crawling around from below to blind fasten. Based on the experience to date, I would recommend it.
The High Desert Group LLC