Therefore it’s crucial to choose a practical and durable system for fastening when you build a deck from scratch. Stainless steel screws that are standard like those mentioned above come with a single protective coating that can peel off and become rusty.
Double-dipped galvanised fasteners will be better secured, and you’ll enjoy the most durable life from coated fasteners designed explicitly for decks.
The price of stainless steel is high, but it’s among the top deck fasteners that are available. We’ll guide you through each possible deck fastener choice and provide pros and cons for each one.
1. Nails and Screws
Nails are measured according to their length, which is determined by a penny or d size. The diameter or gauge increases as the penny grows; a 16d nail is more significant and fat than an 8d nail.
Common nails that are used to frame general purposes are large-headed and have long shanks. They’re solid but challenging to drive and can cause wood to split. Box nails are smaller than regular nails that are the same size, lessen splitting when used on 3/4-inch or smaller sizes.
Redshanks and spiral nails grip the wood fibres but aren’t able to quickly move out. The finishing of exterior coach bolts is slender with a slender shank as well as small barrel-shaped heads. Use them to trim work and countersink the heads.
Casing Nails Are Larger Versions Of Nail Polishers And Offer More Hold.
These stainless steel screws can be sharp tapered, self-sinking and coated to resist corrosion. With a cordless driver or drill, you can drill them like nails. Make sure you align your heavy duty wood screws to the head of your screw (or reverse the process).
Decking screws are typically made using either a TIMCO square or combination heads. Heads with squares are more secure.
How to Choose Between Nails and Screws for Deck Fasteners?
Screws are as easy for you to use as nails and hold more power. If you do it correctly and without stripping the head, they are easier to take off than nails. But, many don’t like how screw heads appear because a tiny amount of water may puddle within the head.
The water will not collect on the nail head unless you drill it far enough. If you’re a skilled builder, driving nails can be a little quicker than driving screws.
But, if you fail to hit the head of a nail with the hammer or push the nail too hard, it will damage the wood. It is also challenging to take a nail off a board without damaging it.
2. Framing Hardware
The framing connectors reinforce the connections between framing members. A few years ago, the framing member was joined by stainless steel screws or nails; however, most current construction codes now require hardware for framing.
Join joists to the sides of a beam or ledger with hanging joists. In the corner, cut the hanger of a joist in half by using tin snips or the angle bracket. Angled joist hangers are designed to accommodate Joists that are attached to the wall at 45 degrees.
When a beam is placed on the top of a post, the post cap is an effective joint. If joists are placed over a shaft, many codes allow you to stainless steel screws at an angle to secure the beam to the joists.
Other building departments in your area need specific earthquake (or hurricane) tie-ups, which provide extra strength to the lateral side of the beam.
Post anchors anchor posts to a concrete foundation and helps to support it so that the bottom will dry between rainstorms. Choose a design that allows you to adjust it to tweak posts while keeping them on the same path.
3. Heavy-Duty Screws and Bolts
For fastening a large piece of wood, such as a post, use the lag screw or carriage bolt. Bolts are more robust and may be tightened over time if your lumber begins to shrink.
Ensure that washers are placed under the head on lag screws or the nuts on carriage bolts to avoid submerging the bolt into the wood.
Attach a ledger onto brick blocks, concrete or block using lag screws and anchors for masonry. Secure a ledger quickly using the masonry screws. They aren’t as sturdy, but they are much easier to drive and don’t need anchors.
4. Other Types of Deck Fasteners
You can eliminate visible screws and nails by using invisible deck fasteners. Hidden fasteners are available in a variety of types. They’re more expensive and take longer to set up and remove, yet they create the deck with a neat, tidy surface.
They’re especially helpful in modern deck designs and with intricate decking designs because they aren’t distracting from creating the decking.
They are also the easiest to set up because they begin starting from above the deck. Continuous structural timber screws require screws from below and are best suited to elevated decks.
There are also mortar fasteners. With this type of hardware, an anchor bolt comes pre assembled, and its sleeve will expand to the side of the predrilled hole when you tighten the bolt.
Make a hole with the same diameter and at least 1/2 inch larger. Blot out the dust and then drive the bolt using the nut right on the top of the threads.
Be sure that the bolt does not spin as you tighten it. Soft-metal or plastic expansion shields are made to expand their sides when it pulls the screw. You can drill a hole that is the same size and diameter as the shield, and then close the screws.
Power Fasteners
Power fasteners, including screw guns, nail guns and powder-actuated fasteners, make it easier to complete carpentry projects. Certain are powered by compressed air, while others make use of a power cell and explosive or chemical charge.
The gun is operated using one hand while leaving one hand to stabilize the weapon and ensure it is aligned. A single blow releases the nail out of the gun, removing the repeated hammer strikes that could cause a piece to fall out of line.
The chance of being one of the nails or missing the nailhead, causing damage to the deck, is removed. Nails employed for nail gun use are fragile and have blunt tips which rarely split wood pieces.
You can use nailing in areas or locations that are difficult to reach using the Hammer. Various guns can be set to countersink fasteners or let them remain in contact with the top surface.
Power fasteners can be expensive. However, you can lease the equipment you require at the majority of rental stores. They also have numerous advantages over traditional hammer and nail.
