Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Composite Decking and Fastners

we are building a house with a fairly large deck (about 5000ft).

after doing a lot of investigation, we have decided on weatherbest grey composite, with a white vinyl railing .

my question now is... what fastner to use??

do we go with the eb-ty , or as my builder suggests the TrapEase screws. these screws are not stainless, but are warranted against rusting.

also wondering if the screws are cheaper/less time consuming to install then a hidden fastner system.

thanks

I am planning on using the TrapEase screws myself for Trex decking.

We looked at one hidden fastener system, I forget what it was called (Deckmaster?). It consisted of metal angled plates that screw to the joists and then the screws are drilled into the decking from below. It added about $1 per square foot for 16" oc decks. We are going with 12" oc spacing, so we were looking at over $1.25 additonal per square foot. At 680 sqft, we said "the heck with it". The TrapEase screws have a nice small head and look fine when installed.

thanks for reply. my builder too built it 12'' oc, and every other beam is doubled as i was originally looking at using ecoboard which is all plastic, and he wanted the added strength.

my builder told me today that the extra cost for the eb-ty fastners is about $6,000 , and he still feels screws are a better long term choice. sooo we are going with the TrapEase.

ron

I think you have both made a good choice. Any of the hidden screw systems out there (DeckMaster, Simpson DTB1's, eb-ty, etc.) add to the cost and the time to install the decking. With any of the solid composites, you can simply face screw the boards and counter-sink the screws. Use a hammer to tap the 'mushroom' down, and within a month or so you will have a hard time seeing where the screws are.