Are screws supposed to show through on decking?

Question

We took the old boards off and we are replacing them with new boards. we are going to secure them to the crossboards underneath, but I am wondering if the screws are supposed to show since we are going to be staining it. I have never done this before so do they have special screws for that or will they be unnoticable after the deck is stained or what? Ty for any info!

Answer 1

If you replaced the boards and used screws to hold them fast, are the screws holding the other boards covered in some manner so they are not noticeable ?  If you are going to stain,the screws will also be stained and will not be as outstanding as you might envision.

Answer 2

Mike (above) is right...but you can also rent the gun for a few days at a rental place....look in the yellow pages for a place.

     You know this, but be sure you countersink the screws...and "probably!?" the auto gun you'll rent (or buy) will have enough force to do that...or enough force to get them flush.  Try it out on some scrap first...and ask the rental place...they will agree with everything...so be careful of them.  Take your time.  And don't countersink too deep.  Have fun.

Answer 3

If you are s******g the deckboards directly to the joists there will always be s***w holes in the deck. It is possible to get "painted" screws that have a paint or coating on them that may match what color you are staining the wood, but they are sometimes difficult to find. All decks have s***w/nail heads on them unless they are installed with a special fastener I've seen a time or two that is designed to fasten them from under the plank, but that is usually only done with composite decks. In any case, the s***w holes should not be asthetically displeasing to you or any guests, you wont notice them.

If you want my REAL suggestion... Invest 300 dollars in a Quikdrive automated s***w gun. It's a stand up s***w gun that uses strips of screws instead of havning to squat/bend down and drive each s***w by hand.  It saves time, it saves your back, and they have a series of s***w (DTHG series) designed for decking that has a "trim head" which is more narrow than an every day deck s***w, and the weather coating on these screws is sort of a brown/gray wood color which would be less noticable than a plain silver color.

Answer 4

i was a deck installer for 8 years  the s***w heads will show you can counter sink them but you will still see a indentation and you can always dab a little extra stain on the s***w heads to make them less noticeable

Answer 5

unless u counter sink the screws  ( going below the surface of the wood ) then the s***w heads or nails are going to show...they do sell a fastening system that u can s***w the deck down from underneath.... I would just use a 3 inch finishing nail ( has no head so less shows )

Answer 6

I'am buidling a deck ,and I found some screws that work great. Phillips II green 3 inch lifetime gurantee. If you have a good drill you can counter sink themjust enough for them not to show !

Answer 7

Stainless steel or ceramic coated exterior screws are necessary for installation into treated lumber, otherwise the screws will rust out and rot in less than a year.

You also shouldn't hide the deck screws or you'll never know where they are when you need to resurface the deck again with new lumber.

Answer 8

You need treated deck screws...and they should be flush with the deck.