Contractors have to be careful to use high-quality hidden fasteners, warns Grabber’s Wulfenstein. “Many clips don’t hold securely, which lets the boards rack and move, which can become a safety issue,” he explains.
Adds Scott Marshall, national sales manager at Grabber, “Clips can be hard to install and often don’t have the proper [glossary]shear value[/glossary]. So they don’t hold well and wind up squeaking. Decks shouldn’t squeak.” He cites a recent study that showed many decks are being constructed using fasteners with shear values of less than 300 pounds, and as low as 197, when fasteners should be upwards of 350 pounds to be secure.
Those problems can unfairly damage the reputation of the entire category, notes Tiger Deck’s Gerstenberger. “I do believe hidden fasteners have gotten a bad rap in some places due to bad products and bad installations. Contractors have to use good products and know how to install them, which is true of any product.”
More Fasteners Offered
Some deck-board manufacturers sell their own fasteners, while others recommend special products. “We don’t offer a proprietary fastener system, so we review products and list those that work with our products on our website to ensure a compatible clip is used,” explains Doug Morse, president/COO of Nyloboard. Whereas Fiberon makes a proprietary hidden fastener. “Nowadays, hidden fasteners are almost a given,” says Edie Kello, director of marketing communications.
Fastener manufacturers try to keep a close eye on the changing options. “Everyone has a different system, and some work well and some don’t,” says Brent Gwatney, senior vice president of sales and marketing at MoistureShield. “It creates concerns for us, because it can create a bad installation. We felt it was important to introduce our own brand of clips that will perform at the high level of our decking.”
DuraLife also offers a line of fasteners for its value line of deck boards. “There’s been an increased amount of angled decks and picture framing and other aesthetic techniques,” explains Mike Descoteaux, marketing manager. “That leads to more customers using hidden fasteners. Overall, the square-footage cost for face screwing is cheaper, but the aesthetics are better with hidden fasteners.”
Some contractors try to blend the two by using face-screwing fasteners with color-coordinated plugs. “My belief is that face-screwing is coming back,” says Screw Products’ Miller. “Contractors have been using clips, but now they’re coming back to face-screwing due to the longevity being asked from decks and wanting to be sure that the fastener is secure. Some builders will face-screw even when they have grooved boards capable of accepting hidden fasteners to ensure all boards are secure.”
Starborns’ Crossley agrees. “A large percentage of deck installers continue to use face-fastening methods for durability and strength.” He is seeing more interest in the company’s plug-fastening system, which supplements its color-matched face fasteners. “The plug-fastening systems are increasingly popular because they offer the best of both types of fastening: the strength of face fastening with the look of hidden fasteners.”
USP tries to bridge the gap with a screw featuring a minimized screw head. “It drives deeper into the board so it’s somewhat hidden,” says Ruch. “We also offer colored heads for screws, so they can match the deck boards to conceal the fasteners.”
