A Guide to the Best Hidden Fastening Systems for Composite Decking

When build­ing with com­pos­ite deck boards, is there a way to build a high-qual­i­ty deck with­out unsight­ly vis­i­ble fasteners? 

Fas­ten­Mas­ter is chang­ing tra­di­tion­al deck build­ing with Tiger Claw TC‑G clips and Cor­tex screws; the inno­v­a­tive solu­tion for pro­fes­sion­al deck builders build­ing decks with zero vis­i­ble fasteners. 

First, you need to under­stand these two dif­fer­ent fas­ten­ers and how they can be used togeth­er for a com­plete deck. 

TC‑G and Cortex: The Perfect Combination for Completely Hidden Fasteners

What is the Tiger Claw TC‑G System?

The Tiger Claw TC‑G is a clip that works with grooved deck­ing. The clip has two upward-fac­ing teeth that bite into the top por­tion of the groove. It also has a spac­er tap, which per­fect­ly gaps the boards by exact­ly 3/​16th of an inch. 

Made from stain­less steel, this clip is durable, stur­dy, and approved for use in salt­wa­ter appli­ca­tions and chem­i­cal­ly-treat­ed lum­ber, so you can count on these fas­ten­ers for a mul­ti­tude of applications. 

Note: If your deck­ing is not grooved, you can still use Tiger Claw TC‑G clips. Fol­low the instruc­tions in this video and use a router to trans­form non-grooved, square-edged deck­ing into a board that works with the TC‑G clips.

What are Cortex Hidden Fasteners? 

The Cor­tex Hid­den Fas­ten­ing Sys­tem is an effi­cient and con­ve­nient way to install deck screws with­out leav­ing an unsight­ly mark on the deck. It con­sists of two parts: the screw that secures the deck­ing, and Cor­tex plugs that fill the hole and leave a flaw­less finish. 

The sys­tem also comes with appro­pri­ate bor­ing and set­ting bits, so you have every­thing you need for final instal­la­tion. With Cor­tex fas­ten­ers, you have an effi­cient sys­tem that com­plete­ly hides the screw hole.

Using the Two Systems Together

The Tiger Claw TC‑G Sys­tem and Cor­tex Hid­den Fas­ten­ing Sys­tem is the per­fect com­bi­na­tion to install hid­den fas­ten­ers on a com­pos­ite deck. Tiger Claw is used for the mid­dle of the deck, while Cor­tex is uti­lized for any­where that Tiger Claw can­not be used, such as pat­terns, pic­ture frames, etc.

The perime­ter boards are fas­tened with Cor­tex screws (the first and last boards, as well as perime­ter boards, won’t accept TC‑G clips). For these boards, the Cor­tex sys­tem pro­vides a firm hold with a hid­den fas­ten­er. The rest can then be com­plet­ed with TC‑G clips. Cor­tex fas­ten­ers are also ide­al for stairs, because they can allow you to main­tain a fas­ten­er-free look with­out sac­ri­fic­ing quality. 

The Fasteners You Need for a Clean, Professional Result

You don’t have to sac­ri­fice struc­tur­al integri­ty for a sleek appear­ance. With hid­den fas­ten­ers from Fas­ten­Mas­ter, you can have both! When fas­ten­ing com­pos­ite deck­ing, you can cre­ate a flaw­less final result with these inno­v­a­tive screws and clips.Vis­it our Fas​ten​Mas​ter​.com today to find a retail­er near you!