Most traditional deck installations rely on having a pre-drilled hole to fasten decking materials to joists and usually leave visible screws. But modern deck installations have to be neat, and the introduction of hidden clips and fasteners allow builders to get the smooth finish of their decks. Wooden or composite decks are good and offer more safety if you are barefoot. Here are more advantages of using hidden clips and deck fasteners.
- A better alternative to nails and screws
Deck screws are known to have adapted over the years and they now have impressive features like the ability to bend laterally on either direction without snapping or the anticorrosion surface feature. This provides a temporary reprieve to homeowners.
But for a more stable and neat finish, homeowners are moving from this traditional way of building decks to the impressive hidden clips deck fasteners giving their decks a sleek finish.
- An all-weather deck
Most building materials are affected by moisture and temperature making them to either expand or contract when subjected to these changes. This is why sometimes exposed nails and screws on ungrooved boards do not function well. This is especially sensitive when you are planning to install a composite deck.
Because the fasteners are clipped on the sides, this system will give your deck more room for expansion or contraction. Hidden deck fasteners also prevent wooden boards from having splits over time and can prevent water penetration because they have no grooves.
- Smooth finish solution
Though hidden clips take time and labor to install than screws or nails which can be driven in with a nail gun, they offer more in form of polished results. Manufactured decking materials have boards that come with a grooved edge to use with your hidden clips and fasteners. But if the wooden deck boards have no grooves you can etch out their edges and create slots that accept your deck fasteners.
Because hidden fasteners are sold separately from decking boards, when ordering your hidden fasteners you should check that they are compatible with your decking boards. Different manufacturers offer different clips with different designs. You will not be able to mix and match different clips with different boards from separate manufacturers.
- Variety of Hidden fasteners and clips
Some of these clips have teeth while others are just pins that can usually dig into the boards to hold them firmly in place and keep them secure. Simple designs work with grooves already pre-drilled on the board. When doing a self-installation, it is easy to order boards with pre-existing grooves so that it saves you the expertise and time needed to make the grooves yourself.
- Decking patterns and design
When using hidden fasteners it becomes easy to manipulate the board and come up with creative designs that are not cluttered with visible nails and screws. You can have a splash of styles and patterns and execute them neatly. There are many deck designs that are pre-existent; diagonal decking, horizontal, herringbone, and in-lay decking.
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Meg is an author at Cinnamon Hollow. She writes on a variety of topics sharing tips and ideas for daily life.
