Hi Folks,
This is Mick from The Fastener Factory and I'm here to talk to you about the decking screws to use when building a deck. There are many different types of decking screws on the market, thus making the choice a little overwhelming for some. When choosing the right decking screw the following things need to be considered.
What timber am I using?
Gone are the days of treated pine decking boards in 90mm wide being nailed down with galvanised nails. No more tripping over a loose board from a nail that popped up from the unstylish grey deck.
Australian consumers have a massive range of decking timber available to them. Merbau is available in 90mm, 140mm and 180mm wide boards. There is also a huge range of Australian timber species available such as Black Butt, Jarrah, Ironbark, Stringy Bark, Spotted Gum and many others.
What joists am I using?
There are 3 types of joist used in decking applications.
The most popular type of joist used in decking is treated pine. The main advantages of treated pine are its low price and long life. Treated Pine is a soft timber and easy to screw into, meaning just about any stainless steel decking screw can be fixed into it.
A less popular joist used is hardwood. Hardwood is extremely durable with maximum stability. Hardwood joists are high in price and can also be difficult to screw into. Even when pre drilled, most Chippys won't use any screws less than 10gauge.
The use of steel for joists is the other option being used by builders and carpenters. The use of C purlins, steel joists and metal battens is growing in popularity. There is now a range of galvanised climoguard metal self drilling decking screws available. These screws are now available in square drive for an easier application and professional look.
Am I in a marine area?
When building a deck in a marine area, 316 grade stainless steel decking screws should be used as a higher grade than the standard 304 grade. This will ensure a longer life in sea/salty air, or salt water. We recommend any application within a 150 metres of the ocean use marine grade 316 stainless steel decking screws.
What style do I like?
Nothing beats a good deck in your Aussie backyard and style is definitely to be considered when choosing the right decking screw. Do you want your screws to be a rustic feature? The benefits of using a stainless steel bugle batten or a galvanised bugle batten screw is an extremely secure fix. Those boards ain't budging. Stainless Steel Bugle
Batten Screws are required for boards 180mm or wider and are quite often used with 140mm wide boards. The stainless steel decking screw is also available in a 12g x 50mm and 12g x 65mm and are widely used with decking boards of 135-140mm wide. The most popular decking screw is the 10gauge x 50mm stainless steel 304grade decking screw. The 10g x 50mm is used on 75mm, 90mm, 135mm and 140mm wide decking boards. The other option is the trim head stainless steel decking screws for a less discreet look. When using trim head screws, you need to consider how secure the fixing will be especially on wider 135mm or 140mm boards. Chippy's often apply 3 stainless steel trim head screws across the board when fixing to 140mm wide merbau decking boards and 2 screws across the board on 90mm wide decking.
