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Building A Deck This Summer?
Having a deck in your home is a luxury many people enjoy having. Being able to sit outside and enjoy the weather or view with family and friends is an excellent way to spend nice days, especially with summer right around the corner.
If you decide to take the journey of building a deck yourself, you are going to have many questions along the way. One of the most essential points to consider is “Which screws should I use for this deck?”. We’ve heard this question before, and there are quite a few things to take into consideration.
1. What Material Should I Use?
Of all the available materials to use for your deck, the most common is stainless steel. Stainless steel deck screws offer an excellent solution due to their increased corrosion resistance. However, stainless steel can still corrode in certain situations so make sure you have the correct grade for your environment.
2. Do You Want To See The Screw Heads?
One of the biggest concerns when making your deck is choosing the correct screw head. Deck screws are usually only found in flat head varieties so they can sit flush with the wood once installed. The question remains, do you want to see the head?
If your answer is yes, then a standard stainless steel flat head deck screw will suffice. If your answer is no, then you have a few options for hiding the screw heads.
- Painted Head Deck Screws – These stainless steel screws are stainless steel with painted heads to match common wood colors. They are the easiest way to hide a deck screw because they are camouflaged in plain sight. Just install them as you would any other deck screw.
- Hardwood Plug Kits – These kits come with little wood corks that you can use to cover the screws. They require more work to install properly but usually leave a great result. First a countersunk hole must be made to sink the screws lower into the wood. Then an adhesive is applied to the plug and placed in the hole over the screw head. One downfall to this method is that removing them is difficult. You can also get a drill bit that can cut these plugs for you instead of buying a kit: Hardwood Plug Cutter Bit.
- Ipe Clips – A third and quickly becoming a very popular option are Ipe Clips. Ipe Clips are installed between the boards of a deck hiding the screws entirely. Mostly used with Ipe wood, these clips can also be used with regular wood to help create an evenly spaced deck.
What Drive Style Should I Use?
Usually, there are three types of drive to consider here. Phillips, Square or Star drive. Although all three are decent choices, we recommend using the star drive for installations. The star drive has the least chance of slippage and cam out during installation making it the ideal choice when working with finished products where slipping out of the drive could damage the surface you are working on. In fact, on many decks built today you are more likely to see star drive screws being used.
Building a deck can be a daunting task but with the proper screws you are now one step closer to enjoying your yard and the weather this year.
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tip of the bit can start “biting” into the wood and pulling the rest of the bit into it. Before beginning your drilling application, you may want to put a piece of painters tape over the hole you plan on drilling into. Auger bits may chip the wood they are drilling into resulting in an unclean look. Painters tape should deter this from happening.
have the strength and cutting power to drill through nails and screws. It is important to maintain a slow speed and let the bit do the work. Once through the nail just continue on and finish the hole you are drilling.
