Finer details of screwing your deck

Information from other threads to date:
SCREW TYPE
10g type 17 square drive countersunk stainless wood screws 50mm
But I'd go for 60mm

No trim heads
Trim heads will pull through the board eventually if it wants to move bad enough

TOOLS
The best tool for fitting the screws is a cordless impact driver
The proper 10Gauge screw will need a 1/8 pilot and 10g countersink, checkout all in one options.

METHOD
With the Stainless Steel screws you would definitely have to pre drill both the deck boards and the joists (if the joists are hardwood).
I'm using a compound drill bit to drill the pilot hole and countersink in one go.
I did some dry runs beforehand: as you say, pre-drilling is a must and the diameter, driver speed and clutch settings are critical for the SS screws which are brittle and snap easily when hot. Make sure the driver is fully inserted into the screw otherwise it ruins the head. Make sure you use a drill with clutch. I have a Hitachi and used the highest clutch setting.
Screw slowly
Use 2 holes per joist and offset them to prevent the joist splitting
Lubricate the screws before hand, don’t use detergent, linseed oil, too much could interfere with surface finish later

ISSUES
If you're using stainless screws (recommended), you've got to watch out
for stripping the heads. A driver with a torque control is essential. You
might also need to withdraw the screw, clear the type-17 tip, and re-insert.
Even better, if you can find gal screws of the same gauge and thread pitch,
you can use one of these to cut the thread path, then withdraw it and
insert a stainless screw. That way, the tougher gal screw is doing the
hard work and if its head gradually strips, just chuck it out and use
another. This strategy only works if the thread pitch (turns per inch)
is exactly the same on both types of screw.

SUPPLIERS
Screws
Best Quality Screws as recommended by utemad
http://www.macsim.com.au
Macsim no. 17sscb1050 10 - 12 x 50mm 304 stainless
Ebay supplier
http://stores.ebay.com.au/ChloeFasteners
http://www.tradeproducts.com.au/10g_...,_square_drive,

Countersink Tools/combos
countersink we use is made by carbi-tool and cost about 45 bucks
model no...DCS 3.2 which obviously stands for drill-countersink-3.2mm
DECKING MATE Countersinks & PreDrills in 1 Manouvre 10g
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....DER:SIMPLEITEM

QUESTIONS
I need to replace old decking on my front veranda, but don’t want to have to replace the joists as they are still ok, although they do have a little surface splitting along nail line, hence why I decided to screw the decking. Would it be advisable then to use longer screws say 60mm. Will I need to also pre-drill the hardwood (seasoned) joists, if so do the all in one counter sinks come with longer pilot drill bits.


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