A deck question.
I’m in the process of doing my deck and wondered what the opinion is regarding the fastening of 1×4 “mahogany” decking. The deck is under 450 sq.ft.
I was going to use a SS nail but I was shown a square drive trim head 316 ss screw that also comes in finishes to match various wood.
I wasn’t sure whether the finished appearance warrented the time and money spent on the scews or if there are any drawbacks I’m unaware of.
Is it necessary to pre-drill ?
Any advice you have is really appreciated
Replies
Yes, you should pre-drill mahogany. It's very dense, and splits very easy if it isn't pre-drilled. Even if it didn't split, you'd be bending alot of nails, and stripping alot of screws.
I think paying for prefinished SS screws may be a waste of money. All you are going to see is the heads, and they tend to get scratched up from the driver bits. Personally, I like the look of trim head screws showing...as long as the rows are straight as soldiers. These would be my first choice for face fastening.
If you do nail...I was taught to drill a slightly oversized pilot hole in the mahogany, being careful not to drill into the joists. This way the nail only actually engages the framing and, in effect, just "pins" the decking to the framing.
If you want to avoid pre-drilling, you will need to use either cut flooring nails or an air-nailer driving flooring-type nails with a rectangular cross section and a blunt point.
Regular nails are sharp and tend to split wood because they squeeze in between the fibres as they are driven in. Cut nails or pneumatic finishers on the other hand have square or rectangular cross sections and relatively blunt tips so they tear the fibres as they go in, thus making a hole and avoiding spreading and splitting. That's why old carpenters always taught apprentices to blunt the tip of the nail with a hammer before nailing too close to the end of a piece of lumber.
That said, pre-drilling is probably still the safest way to go. Mahogany isn't cheap....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
There are a number of trim head stainless screws on the market. Many have a self drilling point. Stainless can be soft. They can bend and break. I like to pre-drill but I use an electric drill. They are twice the rpms of battery drivers. Nails whether they are smooth, ringed or screw type just don't hold over time like screws.
You could also look into some of the blind fastening systems for decking