Upselling Secret: Discover Hidden Deck Fasteners

The rising average price ofbuilding a deck, whether crafted of pricey hardwoods, composites, redwood or cedar, has fueled the sales of hidden deck fasteners.

After all, asks Weston Leavens, creator of the Deckmaster hidden bracket, "Nobody adds surface screws to interior hardwood floors, so why have them on the outdoor deck where water can penetrate into the joists?"

Since introducing his bracket 15 years ago, Leavens has witnessed "an explosion in the demand for hidden fastening. Much of this has come from the growing popularity of composites and hardwoods, but even when using traditional materials, people want the benefits. It seems everybody has seen the problems with surface nails and screws."

Those problems include:

. Appearance. Visible fasteners detract from the look of the deck's surface. And, as time passes, their appearance further deteriorates.

. Maintenance. Nails and screws may have to be redriven and can make resanding of the deck more difficult.

. Longevity. Nails and screws can facilitate water penetration into the wood, shortening the life span of the deck.

Safety. Protruding nail and screw heads can be hazardous. Hidden fasteners grasp the boards at the edges or from below.

"The look is why the consumer is first interested in a hidden system," said Albert Mickadeit of Swan Secure Products. Inc.. master distributor of EB-TY hidden deck fasteners. "I'd say 20Vo of the people looking for our system will not accept anything but a 'hidden' system. It's what they want. The next group of purchasers are 'up sold' to the product. They love the look and once they consider the total job cost, they are willing to pay the extra for that high-end look. Hardwood decking is expensive and if you're spending that much, you might as well go all the way."

Hardwood importer Advantage Lumber, Buffalo, N.Y., specializes in the edge-mount Ip6 Clip. Advantage's Rob Pelc has seen "significant growth in the use of hidden fasteners" due, in part, to the products' continuing improvements. Fiberglass reinforce- ment has strengthened the clips, he said, "so that they can be used on 3/4" decking, which requires more strength because of the slightly higher cupping factor. They are mostly sold with our 5/4x6 decking, which has grown hugely this last year because we now sell it pregrooved both edges along the entire length. Probably 90Vo of the decks that we have sold in the last year have been our pregrooved decking with Ip6 Clip hidden fasteners."

DEALERS find hidden fastening systems, such as EB-TY. to be perfect add-on sales to high dollar deck packages.

Fiberglass reinforment also inhibits overdriving. Other improvements, such as changing from square drive to torx drive and offering the clips in more colors, have also helped sales.

Phone 601- 264 -2559 * Fax 601-296-4740 www.hoodindustries.com

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Hidden fastening systems are available from a variety of manufacturers in an assortment of clips and brackets and even, from ShadoeTrack, underdeck nailing strips. Different materials require different fasteners. "You need to be aware of the many hardwoods available and the characteristics of each wood," Mickadeit said. "Air-dried tropical hardwood will have a tendency to shrink rather then expand, and kiln-dried will expand. Installers should always have the wood acclimate."

When choosing a hidden fastening system, it's also important to consider the installation characteristics. How high off the ground will the deck be? If it's low, an undermount system may prove to be cumbersome. Installation of decks high off the ground may require scaffolding or prove too challenging for systems that demand "slamming" boards into the fastener.

"A learning curve is always the case on the first deck," said Mickadeit. "This sometimes discourages installers, but once they know the system and develop a streamline method, then they can incorporate the look into their sales and offer it as an 'up sell' with a smarter quote."

Man Killed At Treating Plant

One rvorker rvas killed and a second injured in an accident at Gulf Lumber Co.. N{obile. Al.

Jared Lyle Brerver, 23, died Jan. 29 rvhen he rvas struck by a door that lead to a rvood-pressurizing chamber. The door had become stuck and Brerver and other employees rvere attempting to fix it rvhen it released and hit Brerver and another man.

The other employee, George Reed, 48, rvas taken to a nearby hospital, rvhere he rvas listed as beins in fair condition.

Vermont Lumber Firms Suffer

Lumber companies in Verrnont have been feeling the pinch of logging restrictions.

Robert Povin, founder of Eagle Lumber Co., Stamford, Vt., said his firm had to cut its operations by half last year and change its product line.

According to Povin, the U.S. Forest Service has not been selling enough of its timber supply to the lumber mills.

Despite an abundance of timber in the Green Mountain National Forest, sales have been dropping steadily in Vermont since the late 1990s and have not come near the maximum allorvable output of approximately 15 million bd. ft. per year.

To deal rvith the decline, Povin sold off equipment, reduced staff, and began producing flooring products rather than just rarv lumber. Until last March, rvhen the company shut dorvn for six months, Povin ran trvo mills.

Other companies in the state have either gone out of business or are struggling to stay afloat.

The Forest Service is rvorking on reversing the trend of the dorvnrvard timber sales. One recent sale released 1 million bd. ft. of timber, and several other sales are in the rvorks.