Give your deck a sturdy, durable foundation with these tips on choosing the best deck fastener option.
Choosing the right fasteners for your deck can feel like an overwhelming decision.
Standard galvanized fasteners, for example, have a single protective coating, which might flake off and rust.
Credit: Ed Gohlich
Stainless steel is costly but one of the best deck fastener materials available.
Nails and Screws
Nails are sized by their length, designated by a penny, or d, size.
Screws come in a wide array of styles.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
A good all-around choice is #10 decking screwsgenerally in 2 1/2- to 3 1/2-inch lengths.
Decking screws are sharp, tapered, self-sinking, and coated for corrosion resistance.
With a cordless drill/driver, you’ve got the option to drive them about as fast as nails.
Be sure to match yourelectric screwdriverbit to the screw head (or vice versa).
Decking screws generally are machined with a Phillips, square, or combination head.
Square heads drive more securely.
Credit: Tria Giovan
Water will not puddle on a nailhead unless you drive it too deep.
To an experienced builder, driving nails is a bit faster than driving screws.
And it is difficult to remove a nailed board without damaging the board.
Credit: James Yochum
Framing Hardware
Framing connectors strengthen the joints between framing members.
Attach joists to the side of a ledgeror beam using joist hangers.
At the corner, either cut a joist hanger in half using tin snips or use an angle bracket.
Angled joist hangers accommodate joists that attach at a 45-degree angle.
Where a beam sits on top of a post, a post cap provides a reliable joint.
Other local building departments require special seismic (or hurricane) ties, which add lateral strength.
Bolts are stronger and can be tightened in future years if the lumber shrinks.
Attach a ledger to brick, block, or concrete with lag screws and masonry anchors.
Invisible fasteners come in many forms.
They are more expensive and more time-consuming to install, but they leave aclean, uncluttered deck surface.
Continuous fasteners require driving screws from underneath and arebetter suited to raised decks.
it’s possible for you to also use masonry fasteners.
Drill a hole of the same diameter and at least 1/2 inch longer.
Blow out the dust and drive the bolt with the nut just at the top of the threads.
verify the bolt doesn’t turn when tightening.
Plastic or soft-metal expansion shields are designed to spread their sides as you tighten the fastener.
Drill a hole of the same diameter and length of the shield, and tighten the screw.
Some are powered by compressed air, others use a power cell or chemical or explosive charges.
