Screw Fixings vs Hidden Fixings

When you are planning a decking project, you have a lot to think about. Where are you going to place it, how big do you want it, which wood species are you going to use and what finish will work and look the best. When it comes to the detail, you’ll need to start thinking about how you will fix your deck. Essentially there are two main ways of fitting your deck, screw fixings or hidden fixings.

Screw Fixings

Screw fixing for decking is the original and traditional way of fitting a deck. When using a screw fixing method, it’s important to fix your decking board to every joist and you need to take care not to screw your board too close to the edges. Generally you should leave at least a 25mm space between the screw and either the edge or the end of your board. You should also make sure that your screws are countersunk into the surface of the deck to avoid the risk of injuring bare feet. When selecting the type of screw to use Fortress and Spax have designed a specific screws for decking.

The benefits?

1. Precision placement on the point of the screw, this effectively reduces splitting of the torque.

2. Decorative raised countersunk head

3. They are stainless steel, giving them a higher corrosion protection. It also protects the timber from getting any iron stains, particularly on lighter timber

4. Secure bit grips, creating optimal force transmission and no cam-out effect (drill wont slip out of the head of the screw).

Precision is key

When it comes to spacing your decking boards using the screw method of fixing, you’ll need to measure and maintain the gaps either by using a spacing tool (ie Speedeck) or working by eye. Ideally you should leave a gap of anywhere between 6 and 9 mm between each board.