Now granted this was a low, poorly ventilated deck but the mahagony I put down with EB TYE fasteners exactly as described in the directions was unbelievably labor intensive (one hour per 32 feet of board) using a biscuit joiner and a 45 degree angled finish head screw provided. On top of that the whole thing cupped and buckled. I’m returning the fasteners for credit (small consolation) but has anyone else had this experience with Eb-ty fasneners? I see a recent pamphlet from the Mahagony people advises against concealed fasteners for Mahagony. I second that.
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Yep. Friends have an Ipe deck that was installed a few years ago. Last year they called me, their deck had buckled. The problem (with the help of this forum, btw) was narrowed down to the water collection panels beneath it, which inhibited circulation, preventing the decking from drying out, causing the swelling and ultimate buckling. I pulled the buckled boards (not a fun task unless you start at the last board that was installed) and face-screwed them to the joists using 3" SS screws.
I'm glad you brought this up. I'm still trying to decide how to fasten a deck I'm doing. Either mahogany or ipe, not sure yet. I've seen one deck with the eb-ty fasteners and you can see those shiny black things clearly with 1x decking. Youch. I was thinking of trying the tiger claw type... but maybe I should just screw the stuff down and be done with it. Some guys I work with did a deck with 2x ipe where they toe-screwed the decking down thru the edges... predrill every hole, use stainless trimheads.
Glad atleast one person had the same problem I had. What I'm going to do, now that the mahogony is all ripped up and the 700 fasteners returned for credit is to use St Steel screws 2 1/2 inch, 3/board not trim head because I feel the head is too small... and a pamphlet I read said to put them in at a 10 degree angle I think... I had to plane the tops of all the cupped boards smooth.... believe me mahagony is a hard wood... and wore out those makita planer (2012NB) blades. Some jobs are a loss. Thanks all.
Guy I know did an ipe deck. The idea was to use the Eb-Ty fasteners. They got ipe that had grooves pre milled in it for the biscuts. The way he told it, they messed around with the Eb-Ty system for 2 days and just couldn't get satisfactory results. Pitched the idea and face screwed the whole mess with trim head ss screws, which of coarse, required pre-drilling for every one. Matt
Anyone used the entirely-underneath fasteners.... 'shadow track' or something like that? Seems like an added plus would be the lack of any holes in the top of the joists and face of decking.
I have used the system where you screw from below. Doing the work is really hard on my neck, all contorted and working overhead. We had to spray the metal tracks flat black so they didn't gleam through the cracks. It was slow and painful, but looked great. Only way it was possible was the combination of small project size, great customers who were willing to pay for "art," and working on a time and materials basis.
When I did my own ipe deck in 1999, I used the 1 x 6 ipe with two full-head stainless screws (#10 x 2-1/2") per crossing, joists 24" o.c. Holes were pre-drilled with a Fuller c-sink with 3/16" tapered bit that allowed free passage of threads through the decking, but good bite into the PT joists. No finish applied, and still looks fabulous after 5 years.
The great thing about face screwing with stainless is that repairs and maintenance are always easy to access, so they are more likely to be done if needed. Done carefully, the screw heads are just a design element.
Bill
Thanks to everyone....
Like I say, a recent pamplet about mahogony recommends against concealed fasteners, recommends 3 screws / joist, and all screws at a 10?degree angle. thanks... misery loves company.
Hello. I have used Deckmaster with excellent results. It is alot of bending over or doing it from underneath. A right angle drill is a necesity. The results are a strongly secured deck that will last. Once we got used to the the angle the screws went up into the decking we were able to do it blindly from above. Careful to not overdrive screws though.
I recently completed the deck on the front of our home with EB-TY and a generic type form of Trex. I took the cutter off my lamello and mounted it in a shaper and ran about 1500 feet on the shaper with a power feeder. Went great. But, even with pre grooving, the eb-tys took a while to screw down. I guess the clean look out weighs the additional time...or does it? Trapese screws would have gone alot faster