Nailed vs. screw-raised deck boards - my verdict after 6 months

I had to pick between using ring shank nails or hidden deck screws when I built my 12x16 deck in Portland last spring. Went with the screws because everyone says nails pop up over time, and after a wet winter I'm glad I did since every board is still flat. Has anyone here tried the fancy color-matched screw caps, or are they not worth the extra cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_dixon1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you built a deck in Portland and it actually survived a whole wet winter without a single nail pop? That's wild, I've heard horror stories about the moisture up there doing a number on decks. I went with nails on my own patio a few years back because I was cheap and impatient, and now every spring I'm out there with a hammer and a block of wood punching things back down. For real, though, those screw caps sound like a gimmick to me - don't they just add another spot for water to get trapped under and rot the wood out faster?

alicecooper1mo ago

I framed my Portland deck with coated screws and used those plastic cap things, four years later not a single pop and zero rot under the caps when I pulled one to check last month.